Energy Drinks: The New Gateway Drug? Not My Red Bull!!!

reply to post by jude11


over a three year period in my life I sampled every style and brand of supposed energy drink I could find, most of them several times just to be sure. some tasted simply incredible, some were putrid. I even tried pre-made energy drinks which contained alcohol, just to try them.

for me, nothing. not a one gave me a noticeable jolt, boost or helped me through the day. I'm thinking they may affect different people in different ways.

gateway drug my arse. to what, Coca-Cola? Coffee? I have the feeling the person calling energy drinks a "gateway drug" stayed home alone every weekend during high school and didn't attend a single party in college either. what a maroon.

you want a gateway drug, try my eldest sisters Rum Cake. now that, that will mess you up for life!

Know anyone dumb enough to drink seven cups of strong coffee followed by seven shots of vodka multiple times a week? If you do you should be a good friend and educate that person before something bad happens. Alcohol mixed with caffeine puts enormous stress on your heart and is known to be a lethal combination.

The only reason I think they would be targeting this drink is the fact that it is being over used in the drinking scene. One can has the same amount of caffeine as a good cup of coffee. College kids go through bottles upon bottles of Red Bulls a night usually mixed with vodka. This is a normal cause of concern.

Now should it be banned? I don't think so but that's because I think all drugs should be legal. Is it a gateway drug? I don't see the connection. Although I do know from having dumb friends that when you've had too many say, vodka red bulls and can barley stand, a little coke will put you back on your feet in no time.

Marijuana is classified as a gateway drug because cannabis is illegal. Therefor if you hang around people who use weed that might also expose you to other illegal substances such as coc aine. There is absolutely no psychological or physiological connection there from the marijuana itself.

End the war on drugs already.

Anyone familiar with the Live! shows knows that I consume my fair share of Red Bull/energy drinks.

Like anything else - your body becomes used to it. The first can may perk you up a bit, but after that all you are getting is an extended caffeine boost that will give you a headache. You may as well drink strong coffee.

I think the "gateway" drug thing is ludicrous - as with everything else its all down to personal responsibility and education - if you drink 12 cans of the stuff and a bottle of vodka, bad things are going to happen, but the odd can here and there is not going to do anyone any harm at all (unless they have issues with serious caffeine).

Conversely, try drinking 12 espresso's and some vodka - same effect. Is espresso bad?

The drink itself is not leading to "binge drinking culture", peoples abject stupidity and/or a lack of understanding of the effects of alcohol is.

The more drunk people get, the more likely they are to do something even more stupid, which is where the follow on stuff comes from.

This is a classic case of trying to blame the ills of society on something and deflect away from the actual problem.

reply to post by jude11


lol, drugs are cheaper than red bull!


i drink 4 sugar-free red bulls a week, (the sugar will kill ya) now, i still like the taste.

down from a ridiculous amount, even wholesale it's expensive. (really, really ridiculous amount!)

gatorade is a fav when i am outdoors and it's hot,

3-4 a week.

gateway drugs don't mean anything, you get addicted to something by yourself.

i believe there is genetic pre-disposition and psychological factors in addiction.

one must be aware and no doubt that is the hard part of kicking the habits.

I have yet to seen this mentioned here. It's one thing for an adult, who realizes what the effects of a few cups of strong coffee has one you, compared to kids in jr high and high school know. My kids started drinking these drinks on their school buses. I was not okay with it. I told them that it was not something I thought they should be drinking. The reply was "but all the other kids do"...I really don't give a sh*t what the "other" kids do!

This past school year, my oldest daughter plays sports. She had met some "nice" girls from the town next to ours that they played against in school sports. She found out a couple weeks after playing the next town over, the girl she really liked, died of a heart attack. The cause, she drank "energy drinks" and lots of them. She basically, legally gave herself a heart attack by drinking red bull, many of them, every day. She left behind a child in her death.

Sadly, her story was not the only one I have heard in our community. The kids are drinking these "energy drinks" up, they are not "illegal" and they can be bought in a store with no ID.

These drinks are killing children. As one parent who tries to stay abreast of all the news, and inform her kids...I am saddened by the fact that other "children" are dying from legal "energy drinks".

reply to post by jude11


Everything from sugar to caffeine, to prescriptions all the way to Heroin can be abused and misused. Heck even hair gets abused by some people who can't stop pulling it out and chewing on it. I take a five hour energy drink twice a week sometimes double dose to wake up. Doesn't mean I'm addicted to the stuff in fact I can get by without it just will be tired.

I wish I could just crack a redbull when I was fiending for meth; what a MORON, science my twat.

edit - why would anyone spend copious (copious) amounts of money on a meth habit when they could buy a $2 can of red bull? If I spent the same on Red Bull that I'd spend on meth I'd end up with a heart attack preceeded by exxxxxxxxxxxtreme anxiety and none of the positive effects of any narcotic stimulants...

Originally posted by calstorm
Energy drinks aren't good for you, that said, what right does the government have to decide what I put in my body.
If I choose to drink them that's my right.

Funny thing...the government has been deciding what goes into our bodies
for quite a while now...

Energy drinks a gateway "drug"??? think about how energy drinks have a lot of vitamins in them...ever think it's a back door way to begin their assault on vitamins and natural herbals??? They've been working on an angle for a long time now....

quick question thou

are you talking about gateway theory

or

the Steppingstone theory

just sayin ,

either way id guess its fair to say that most humans indulge "booster" substances on a regular basis
be it smokes , drinks or snacks , two of which are the basic means of getting fuel for your body a third one would be light or the sun as we know it but as with all things in life moderation is a key be it carbs , nicotine or sunbathing.

This guy is a complete fool imo. He had a bad experience so he gets on his high-horse and starts preaching? They can't ban energy drinks, I don't think, since there is nothing illegal in them. And they are barely stronger than coffee to me, as I drink them all the time. I say that hard drugs are a gateway to energy drinks.

Absolutely ridiculous. When will people get the hang of the simple concept "correlation does not imply causation"? Just because people who drink Red Bull tend to abuse prescription drugs more than people who do not, does not imply that it is the Red Bull itself that causes drug abuse!

Idiocy.

Guess what? People who are in a coma are 99.99999% less likely to die in a skiing accident, does that mean we should take preventative measures against skiing accidents by giving regular skiers brain damage?

An extreme example, but the point stands. It seems more likely that people who drink Red Bull are statistically a little less risk adverse than those who do not, due to certain health warnings associated with it, and risk averse people are also less likely to take and/or abuse drugs of any kind. In that likely instance, Red Bull consumption would have nothing to do with drug taking at all, and barring Red Bull would have no affect on the numbers of people taking drugs. I strongly suggest this is the case.

Put me down as a guy who drinks Red Bull regularly who has never, ever had the urge to take dangerous Class A drugs.

Let's stop making these stupid errors of logic please!

So let me get this straight, These doctors want to claim energy drink are a "Gateway Drug", with the most active ingredient being caffeine?

You can buy caffeine in pill form OTC and give yourself a much larger dose of caffeine than chugging energy drinks.

How are they going to ban energy drinks? They would have to ban caffeine all together I would think.

Well im probably part of the first wave of kids who experienced the energy drink explosion.

Ugh I hate studies that show percentages in demographic or...musicians. First. Musicians...Most of the younger crowd who are musicians probably drink energy drinks as its more prevalent in younger people. They stay up later probably drink more if they are staying up later and probably do weed. The older musicians who probably dont drink energy drinks because most older people stick to their coffee, dont do shows quite as late, have gotten over the drinking binges and probably dont smoke as much. But this really has no correlation to energy drinks as much as it does to different demographics of people and the younger generation who typically drink energy drinks but also experiments with drugs..

Just a way data can be manipulated to show either side of case.

I am no stranger to energy drinks. If anythign we have a long standing relationship. A 24pk of Monsters in my fridge. Usually one a day when i get up. Might drink a second if i am going out at night to give me a bit of an energy boost so i am not groggy and can be more up beat. I get grumpy when i am tired... But never does it or has it altered my state of mind! Hell i am much more productive running my business because of energy drinks. Gets my butt up and moving. I also dont see how it could lead me into doing other drugs. If anythign cigarettes are the biggest gateway drug out there. Its the first mind altering thing most young kids experience. I sure as hell didnt binge drink monsters as a kid and think anything spectacular was going on in my head. I think most children are familiar with caffeine and aren't too impressed by it. And i really hate the term gateway drug. Its not drugs that are gateways, its the lifestyles that are the gateways. The friends your with. The girls you date. The thrill of being cool. Thats why cigarettes are the biggest gateway for younger kids because usually the younger kids willing to smoke cigarettes illegally are in my opinion more likely to do associate with others who are less reserved and more willing o experiment with other drugs. They are also more willing to submit to peer pressure as well which is the biggest reason i know of for kids using drugs. I know i never would have drank, smoked cigarettes, or smoked weed if it weren't for someone else talking me into it and i think many others can relate to that.

Also look at the electronic music scene that's exploding right now. Most of those kids there are 18ish and drugs galore. Coke, Ex, Molly, acid, etc Its becoming VERY popular. Some shockingly young kids doing very hard drugs. Especially some of the younger girls.

I think the doctor who wasted time with his "research" and having other doctors sign it is a terrible doctor wasting his medical knowledge in this area. WTF? He should be trying to help the greater good of mankind instead!

reply to post by jude11


Ok aside from labeling energy drinks the new "gateway to hell",he did raise one concern that I have had for a while now,namely young kids drinking that stuff.don't get me wrong,I don't for a minute think that it will turn them into rabid crack or crystal meth users,but the levels of caffeine present in most of these energy drinks surely must be causing adiction in these kids,I mean,are they also drinking coke,sprite etc,which also have a somewhat unneccesary caffeine content? It's just another means of getting kids hooked on a product which must have a detrimental effect on their long term health.

reply to post by jude11


OMG!! Just something else for the Gov to come after people for.....

I just read OP and wanted to reply before reading rest of posts, so I could make my point w/o being influenced by other postings.

...energy drinks just give me a really bad vibe. I equate them to a form of legal liquid meth, and I hate how they are readily available to kids.

THAT is about the only thing I agree with concerning this - them being available to kids part, that is. As for being a form of liquid meth??

These drinks are nothing more than herbs and Caffeine, for crying out loud!!! But, you will always have those A holes out there that want to use them to 'enhance' their drinking. I do not believe bars and clubs should be offering them as an alcoholic drink. Energy drinks has tons of caffine in them and to put alcohol with them is just, sooner or later, asking for problems, IMHO. Caffeine to keep you up but alcohol is a depressant. Not a good combination, don't you think??

Are we as a society, so weak, stupid and feeble to not be in control of our common senses anymore? Can we not decide whether to go from Red Bull to Crack without the Government?

Do you think energy drinks should be considered a gateway drug and restricted by the government?

YES!! I believe most of the masses ARE so weak and stupid, personally!! As stated earlier, Energy drinks are, in no way, shape, or form, a drug of any kind!! People that claim this, or end up smoking crack while drinking them, ARE the weak & stupid people I was talking about. Any place that serves energy drinks, mixed with alcohol, should be held just as libel as if they served the customer too much alcohol - should problems arise. Going from Red Bull to Crack is just insanity. Plus, excessive drinking of these energy drinks is total lack of common sense because too many could be asking for problems - with one's heart. Just as drinking 5 pots of coffee would....

IMHO, the Gov needs to stay the hell out of our lives!!! Put an age limit on those able to legally drink it AND make serving them mixed with alcohol a no-no - for establishments. Ultimately, young people are going to do damn well as they please - w/o thinking about any consequences. But no establishment that serves alcohol needs to be offerring this mixture to anyone, IMO.

But, then, who am I as I believe Pot (probably the least lethal of all drugs, including alcohol) needs to be legalized and alcohol should be regulated much more - to the younger folks. This country has way more problems that arise from drinking alcohol. But it is a BIG BUSINESS, don't you know?? Just my 2 cents worth.....................

Oh....I drink 1 energy drink a day - in the AM to get going, like I would with coffee.

Originally posted by neformore
Anyone familiar with the Live! shows knows that I consume my fair share of Red Bull/energy drinks.

Like anything else - your body becomes used to it. The first can may perk you up a bit, but after that all you are getting is an extended caffeine boost that will give you a headache. You may as well drink strong coffee.

I think the "gateway" drug thing is ludicrous - as with everything else its all down to personal responsibility and education - if you drink 12 cans of the stuff and a bottle of vodka, bad things are going to happen, but the odd can here and there is not going to do anyone any harm at all (unless they have issues with serious caffeine).

Conversely, try drinking 12 espresso's and some vodka - same effect. Is espresso bad?

The drink itself is not leading to "binge drinking culture", peoples abject stupidity and/or a lack of understanding of the effects of alcohol is.

The more drunk people get, the more likely they are to do something even more stupid, which is where the follow on stuff comes from.

This is a classic case of trying to blame the ills of society on something and deflect away from the actual problem.

espresso and sambuca gives me a huge high. even with a bottle of chianti in me and a $40 veal dish.


try it, costs me big time but worth it.
i'm not advocating anything!!

don't try this at home kids!

Not my Green Monster drinks

Kind of off-topic but IMHO I think that marijuana is only a gateway drug because it is classified with all those harder drugs. Kids try marijuana, see that it isn't as bad as the world made it seem, and might go on to think "Hey, if they we're wrong about marijuana, maybe they were wrong about coc aine.

The reality is every one of those drugs gives you the opposite effect of marijuana. Marijuana relaxes you, calms you. Cocaine, Meth, MDMA all dramatically increase your heart-rate and makes it hard to even sit still. The fact is the highs are so completely different, the ONLY thing connecting the drugs together is the laws that prohibit them.

Originally posted by theshepherd92
The fact is the highs are so completely different, the ONLY thing connecting the drugs together is the laws that prohibit them.

Wow that's good, never taught of it this way but you are totally right.