ABA Refutes Report Linking Energy Drinks to Increased ER Visits

WASHINGTONThe American Beverage Association (ABA) is calling the recently released report that the number of emergency department visits involving energy drinks increased approximately tenfold between 2005 and 2009 a troubling example of statistics taken out of context."

The report was conducted by the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) at the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and published in the Nov. 22 Dawn Report." According to the report, ER visits involving energy drinks increased from 1,128 visits in 2005 to 16,053 and 13,114 visits in 2008 and 2009, respectively. A total of 52% of energy drink-related emergency department visits made by individuals ages 18 to 25 also involved alcohol or other drugs. Emergency department visits involving energy drinks were classified as adverse reactions in 67% of cases.

According to the ABA statement, This paper is a troubling example of statistics taken out of context. The number of emergency room visits by people who consumed energy drinks, as reported in the paper, represented less than one one-hundredth of 1% of all emergency visits. In addition, this report shares no information about the overall health of those who allegedly consumed energy drinks, or even what symptoms brought them to the ER in the first place. Furthermore, it shows that nearly half of those who visited the emergency room had consumed alcohol or taken illegal substances or pharmaceuticals, making their consumption of energy drinks potentially irrelevant.

There is nothing unique about the ingredients in energy drinks, including caffeine. In fact, most mainstream energy drinks contain about half the caffeine of a similar size cup of coffeehouse coffee. So if you are enjoying a coffee at the corner coffeehouse, you are getting about twice as much caffeine as you would from an energy drink."