.
I have never even tasted high energy drink Mother but I guess actual mothers are hardly their target market – it seems that the target market is in fact drunk people or people who hang out at pubs and clubs and need a huge hit of caffeine.
When I was pubbing and clubbing we would have had a really strong coffee to get our caffeine hit. Possibly some No Doz. And there was that time someone suggested I take an over-the-counter cold tablet (don’t try that at home kids, it’s probably illegal and also baaaad for you. Just go home when you get tired. Drink tea. Go to bed. )
It has been reported that up to 95 pubs and clubs across NSW are serving Mother on tap. Now this is not Mother like the maternal, kindly mum that will look after you after you have had a few drinks this is Mother the high caffeine energy that contains 160mg of caffeine in a 500ml serve , (a cup of coffee is 60 -120mg and a 375ml can of cola is 48.75mg).
According to News.com.au
… New research published by the University of Florida in the medical journal Addictive Behaviors, found young people who drink alcohol mixed with energy drinks are three times more likely to become highly drunk and four times more likely to drink-drive than those who only drink alcohol.
Mother, owned by Coca-Cola Amatil,was first put on tap at two pubs in April and has since widened to 95 hotels.
NSW Health spokesman Jason Donohoe said it was irresponsible to sell the drink on tap and in such a highly visible way on bar counters. “Studies on the effects of consumption of energy drinks in combination with alcohol find that users may experience reduced perceptions of alcohol impairment,” he said.
The Australian Medical Association federal vice-president, Dr Steve Hambleton said: “This is horrifying. In Canada, the health warnings on energy drinks say max one drink per day.”
Now it seems likely that pubs will be banned from selling energy drinks on tap with both the Government and Opposition committing to tackling the issue. But will this really make a difference. It is still sold in cans
The ABC website reports that
A Cooma licensee, Jason Kelly, serves the high-energy drinks on tap and says a ban won’t solve the problem. “I’m not sure why you would ban it on tap and still allow it in a can,” he said. “I don’t really see the point of that.
“I can understand them having reservations about energy drinks and how much people are consuming but I don’t see the difference in having it on tap.”
What do you think on tap or in a can ? Does it really make a difference? Do you drink energy drinks? When and what for? Do you mix them with alcohol?
Comments
97 Comments so far
A hardgainer is somebody with a slight or lean bodytype who has difficulty gaining weight, specially muscle.
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I’m a high school teacher and what scares me is all the kids drinking these sorts of drinks in the morning before school. Some will even skull a couple of cans. I’ve even seen kids drinking a whole 2 litres of cola. I agree these drinks are marketed more at younger people and teens are a part of that market share.
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what is wrong with a 2 litre bottle of coke before school it just the same as teachers takeing no-doz before school
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I haven’t seen any teacher’s taking no doz. Though of course most drink coffee. The energy drinks bother me a lot more than the 2 litres of cola, but 2 litres of cola in one go is a lot of cola.
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All I can say is if you have a heart condition AVOID!!
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http://thingsboganslike.com/2009/11/09/massive-cans/, coupled with http://thingsboganslike.com/2010/01/20/68-functional-water/.
Says it all, really.
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tried one once and it gave me very scary heart palpatations – never tried another!
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I tried one of the first ones on the market, many years ago – Red Eye? Got halfway through and I had palpitations, followed by an upset tum, worse than any bug I have ever had.
Stayed away from them ever since.
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At my last workplace, we reserved the right to not serve energy drinks, and especially not with alcohol mixed with them.
Too much hassle after people had a few…………
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Really? This is being debated, by the goverenment? Shouldn’t concerns be more about oh, I don’t know, underage drinking? Health problems caused by alcohol? Alcohol and violence? What’s next, banning a double shot of Espresso at Gloria Jean’s?
I know that there are genuine health concerns about caffeine, but in licensed venues where alcohol is also being served – to adults, it seems like a poor use of government time to me.
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You seem to have missed the point here which is that these energy drinks, when mixed with alcohol, have been shown to have a significant impact on negative/dangerous behaviours. They are not debating ‘banning coffee’, they are debating banning a highly caffeinated product which people who are drunk at a pub tend to gravitate towards (unlike a latte, or double espresso), with potentially dangerous consequences.
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I think energy drinks should be banned altogether. So bad for you.
I have never tried Mother nor do I ever want to.
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I used to work in a bar that brewed our own energy drink and had it on tap (it was basically cheap red bull, tasted horrible). I don’t think people drank more of it because it was on tap, though it was harder to track than canned drinks so the staff would drink it. We would take shots of it (see above re. horrific taste), which made me hyper and shaky enough, can’t imagine someone drinking a whole glass.
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I dont like to drink alot of alcohol so when I used to club with my friends, I always volunteered to be deso – the people who I was driving home used to buy me red bull in a can – I’d probably only have 2 a night – I was a little bit hyper but I was one less drunk idiot in that club.
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I don’t like Mother very much. It tastes a bit off, and in practical terms caffeine is a diuretic, and so smashing down 500mL of Mother with a load of caffiene just makes you pee a LOT.
I love red bull. Come uni exam time, I will end up drinking 4-6 cans a day, and a can before the exam itself to give me enough buzz to last through it. The crash afterwards makes the first week of holidays a write-off. I know its not great for you, but at the end of the day its caffeine, taurine and sugar, not the end of the world.
I drink redbull/alcohol combinations when i go out dancing with friends. You just have to be really careful to keep drinking water, because the caffeine diuretic effect is made a hundred times worse by alcohol. If you don’t drink water the dehydration gives a mega hangover.
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I wish I could do that pre-exams, but I react really badly to energy drinks, so not worth the risk.
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Yeah, I used to drink energy drinks but now I can’t. They simply make my stress and anxiety worse. Now that I have stopped drinking them I no longer experience panic attacks and severe anxiety from my University exams. Also, I have saved a heap of money! They are so expensive!
I work part time as a checkout operator at a supermarket and I really dont like selling these energy drinks to young children. I don’t understand why parents would give them to their children! I have seen parents give them to their kids, and parents drink them. Its a horrid habit to get into, where you have to rely on an energy drink. Just do what I do, sleep at night, eat 3 meals a day and exercise! That really should be enough to get you through the day, and if it isn’t then maybe you go see a doctor.
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Man, went to Big Day Out one year, all the friends were on illicit substances and I needed to keep up so had 4 cans of V…. needless to say I was “Speeding” a hell of a lot more than them at 12:30am on the drive home!!!
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You can “trip” on a large overdose of caffeine. Did it years ago. I was seeing and hearing some freaky s#%*t for about 8 hours. Never did that again.
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Yeah I have done that – one bored night at Uni when I lived in college, we went on a Coke (a Cola) bender to see what would happen. Just sat there and drank heaps of cans of coke.
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I took car sickness tablets that were in chemists in the 80s. When I looked at the packet later they were really heavy on the caffeine, which surprised me. I thought at least they’d have ephedrine (also in the pharmacies at the time) or some or stimulant given my extreme hallucinations.
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Oh I had half a can of V at 4 am one night out in order to pull an all nighter. I spent from 6 to 7 am lying on the couch with one foot on the floor to orientate myself trying to convince myself that my palpitations probably weren’t a heart attack.
never again.
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half a can??? hahahahaha
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Honestly? If the same wouldn’t happen to you with half a coffee, I don’t see why half an energy drink would.
I regularly have 4 cans of sugarfree V a week – maybe 8 cans plus diet coke during exams!
I still swear that it has no real effect on me, and that it’s just the taste of it that prompts me to wake up a bit more…
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I had a Mother once. It made me really shaky. I never drink coffee so i guess my body’s just not used to caffeine. I didnt enjoy it though, and i havent had one since!
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I think adults should be responsible for their own behaviour without the Government dictating everything that we are allowed to do (I’m not an energy drink drinker either if that matters)
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Which is one reason why I would like to see heroin legalised.
Cocaine possibly not.
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What’s the difference?
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When people use heroin they tend to simply go all passive, very few crimes are committed when people have taken heroin. The crime is committed generally to obtain the money to buy the stuff, or fighting over who will supply it.
Cocaine is a stimulant, an upper, which can lead to aggression and violence. It is also more physically harmful to the body than heroin. Heroin, in a pure state, in measured doses, is less harmful than alcohol.
There is no ‘safe’ dose of cocaine, and it has virtally no medicinal useage (it has been used as a local dental anaesthetic and to stop severe nose bleeding when nothing else works, but is a last resort treatment)
Heroin on the other hand, being similar to morphine / codeine, can be considered to have a medicinal use.
Other so-called party drugs are more like cocaine, being uppers, with no ‘safe’ dose. The body can react, fatally, to a single fairly low dose of nearly any of them.
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Heroine is extremely addictive!!!!
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Heroin makes you constipated…
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Your body develops a tolerance to any of the opiods, even if used legally over time. Have a strong enough dose and your respiratory drive is decreased. The same with cocaine at large doses.IMO youre giving a simplistic view of heroin & cocaine. They’re both destructive due to peoples tendency to over indulge. Even marijuana, which I believe should be legalized can cause psychosis if you tend that way and no one knows that until it’s too late.
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Actually I don’t believe that marijuana should be legalised, for exactly the reason that you have stated.
And yes, heroines are extremely sddictive, anyone who has watched Sigourney Weaver in the Alien series can testify to that.
Heroin is addictive too, so is caffeine, sex, tobacco, excessive exercise, overeating, alcohol, dangerous behaviour (is base jumping – for the adrenaline rush) and many other things.
The abuse of alcohol is destructive to people, more than heroin, yet alcohol is still legal. You would be surprised how many people in the general community are ‘casual’ heroin users (I have never used any illegal substances by the way, so I am not defending my way of life). If alcohol and tobacco are legal, there is no reason why heroin should not be: available in measured doses in single shot syringes to people over 18 from bottleshops and phramacies.
This cannot be worse than pubs being allowed to stay open 24 hours a day with all the alcohol fueled violence that results.
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Marijuana can relieve pain, increase the appetite and relieve nausea. Fairly useful for those with intractable pain or undergoing chemo for cancer etc and that’s just it’s psychoactive properties. The problem with heroin still remains that it creates dependency over time. I’m a bit amazed that you would advocate people injecting themselves as a method of use. Most people couldn’t stand to “stick” themselves and then there’s needle disposal, especially given the high rate of hep infection and used syringes being a health hazard. Risk of overdose, what if the persons been drinking or indulging in other drugs? It’s a simplistic solution to a complex issue IMO.
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Yes, Marijuana has medicinal properties, particularly for those in pain and with glaucoma, and for those with MS. Which is why tincture of cannibis was avaiable for use by the medical profession for decades, until around 1960 or so (my wife, an ex psych nurse remembers see old bottles of the stuff going dusty at the back of hosital medical cabinets). It probably should be available now, under prescription, tightly controlled.
Yes, heroin is a problem, but few of the so-called solutions currently used seem to have any positice effect at all. Most current heroin addicts seem to inject themselves, but I could be wrong. Perhaps make it available in tablet form., or if I may be so bold to suggest, as a suppository.
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I can’t drink energy drinks. The first time I had one, my mouth went dry, I had heart palpitations and felt ill and anxious. I had no idea it was the energy drink until I had one again, same effect. To me it feels like having 5 cups of strong coffee in a row.
There was a case I read about where a man drank something like 7 Red Bulls and had a heart attack. I assume he must have already been predisposed to a heart problem, but goes to show these drinks are not quite as innocent as they seem.
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Stupid things I wish they were banned! My ten year old son says things like, “I can’t wait till I’m going to buy my own can of Mother” – they see the teenagers drink it and it looks super cool.
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When I was 18 I had a violent reaction to caffeine and since that time I have never had a coffee. I have never had a Red Bull or energy drink full stop. The MOST I would have is a decaf coffee once every now and then and even that leaves me with an upset tummy, the shakes and racing thoughts. I have never really given it much thought but reading here about how much caffeine some people consume makes me realise I must be extremely hyper sensitive to it. The stuff some people put in their bodies in the name of a good time really amazes me sometimes.
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My sister in law was hospitalised after having what the Doctor said was equivelant to 37 cups of coffee. 37!!!
She had been at a festival and was drinking the vodka and red bull they served in a plastic cup.
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If I drink which is not that often I usually mix it with energy drinks. I just like it better, you don’t feel as slow or tired or sluggish. I would never drink drive anyway, but I don’t see how energy drinks would make you want to.
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some people don’t realise how much alcohol they’ve consumeed when they combine it with an energy drink. They feel “fine”. Not aan excuse by any means for drink driving but i can see how it might happen.
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They’re really bad for your teeth. They can demineralise them, you have been warned!
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demineralise ey….yeah well like I said I hardly ever drink. But thanks for the warning
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YeP, been told by dentists I’ve worked with. If you must drink them, use a straw, it gets the tooth decaying liquid to the back of your throat, away from most of your teeth. Also just drink one or two a day, give your saliva a chance to do it’s work, which is to wash away food etc & bacteria.
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I don’t drink energy drinks but I have a lot of friends who do.
I have a friend that complains a lot about sleeping problems, lying awake for hours, never getting any sleep etc etc and due to her little sleep is often very tired in the morning or during the day, so she’ll have a V.
It drives me mental. Absolutely mental!
I can’t help but think that maybe if she stopped drinking V she wouldn’t be having 5 times her daily caffeine intake and then would be able to sleep!
And what’s worse is she drinks the sugar free variety as if it’s somehow better for her…
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Funny this was posted today. I wouldn’t say I became addicted to energy drinks over my uni career, but I thought nothing of buying them and at times had two or three a day. When I have wanted a cheaper caffeine hit in the past few months, I would turn to coke. Not good. For someone who is interested in being healthy and treating my body with respect, it was pretty contradictory. So at the start of this week I decided to give up coke/energy drinks cold turkey and limit my coffees to a maximum of one a day. So far so good.
I think energy drinks in general should be more closely regulated, but to have them readily available in combination with alcohol is a recipe for disaster!
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This is slightly off-topic, but…
While in the supermarket yesterday morning, a woman and her 2 primary school-aged sons lined up behind me at the counter. Each of the boys had a large can of Mother and a Killer Python (massive lolly snake) in hand. It was all I could do to stop myself turning around and giving the woman a serve. I’m not usually the type to judge but it really made my blood boil.
Energy drinks are not great for adults, but are horrendous for kids.
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that is so negligent. (not you the mother!) no wonder kids have behavioural issues when parents fill their kids up with rubbish. unbelievable.
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so glad i wasn’t around those kids about an hour later!
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Oh can you imagine… its like giving your kids coffee and coke at the same time. And the crash afterward would be horrible for little bodies.
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Not that I agree with parents giving kids energy drinks….but please don’t start telling parents how to parent their kids
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I wasn’t planning to, but thanks
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I think in this case it’s wise to tell parents how to parent their kids. Are we so PC nowadays that we can’t even stop a parent from harming their child??? What if it was alcohol they were holding, and not Mother? Caffeine is still a drug and it can have a negative effect on development.
My one, it would have been hard but I think you should have spoken up. What’s the worst that could have happened, she might have told you to eff off? Maybe she didn’t know any better and having someone tell her about the dangers would have given her second thoughts next time. I’ve heard stories about parents buying things for kids because the kid nagged them and the parent didn’t actually realise what it was they were buying for them.
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My One, be very careful telling a mother what to do or not to in a supermarket. The odds are good she will bite your head off. And prob not listen to your advice. It is pretty well established that mothers do not take advice from random strangers in supermarkets, even if that advice is Gold.
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it’s not about telling parents how to ‘parent’ – it’s about saving the poor children from their idiot parents who are not looking after them! I always think of the child who needs a real advocate, not a weak parent that gives in because it’s too hard to say ‘no’.
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Ahhh the need to save children from their parents – you should apply for a job with Child Services then and really help some kids.
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My sister used to work in a childcare centre were some of the parents had sent their kids to daycare with coke in their bottles!!!
They would of course immediately empty it out. Some parents have no idea, or just don’t care!!
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I once saw a mum in Coles take a can of soft drink off the shelf, open it, pour it into her about 2 y.o vhild’s sippy cup then put the can back in the shelf and walk off. I was rooted to the ground trying to work out which I was most appalled about…
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Try having them in your classroom an hour later and attempting to teach them something. Good times!
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Glad I didn’t have to teach them yesterday morning.
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I don’t mind the odd V, usually when it is too hot for coffee and I really need an energy hit (usually early afternoon after a bad night’s sleep). I drink a double espresso every morning, so I think my body is used to that much caffeine in one hit. On a normal day, with enough sleep and energy, the double espresso will do me. It’s strong, but is the only caffeine I have so I figure there are worse things. I can’t drink caffeine after 3 or 4 pm though or it keeps me up.
Oh, and whether it’s on tap in a bar or in a can, I doubt it makes much difference to the amount consumed
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Not a fan.
After the 2006 soccer world cup, I went to work after about 2 hours sleep (and no alcohol). I had a V or a red bull to wake me up and didn’t enjoy the feeling I got. My heart rate was beating so fast that it really scared me.
Nowadays, I’ll occasionally have a vodka red bull when I’m out in an effort to stay out longer, but I really regret it when I’m laying in bed that night with my foot tapping.
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Mother on tap is only the tip of the iceberg.
I’m a high school teacher, and I constantly see my kids walking to school drinking cans of energy drink for breakfast. BREAKFAST!! And that’s all they have. They are animals by first period, due to all the caffeine flowing through their body.
Our school has banned energy drinks on the premises, because of the reaction it has in our kids. Also note, we are talk about a rough, socially disadvantaged school, so these kids don’t need any more reason to be badly behaved.
I think more information should be provided about what is in the drinks. Because frankly, I think you’d be better off drinking poison.
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If I remember correctly, the UK has energy drinks banned for under 16s? I wonder how that works for them. Might be a good idea here too.
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I agree, I actually think they should be in the same category as alcohol, only available to over 18′s. They are so easy to buy and kids who have more than one are bouncing off the walls. Its too strong for their young bodies. Especially after no breakfast!!
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My favourite on the way to work is seeing young kids leaving the 7-11 with those huge Slurpie cups. I suppose the amount of sugar in one of those is equivalent to the amount in a bowl of cereal these day.
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I agree. I work in the youth sector and I am really against energy drinks. I think it is another example of corporations like Coca-cola unashamedly making money off young people who are frankly vulnerable to making stupid choices! (A female brain doesn’t fully develop til about 23; a male 27).
I think some studies should be done which explore the links to alcohol and energy drinks, and also the effects on the heart; the relationship to anxiety. Enough young Australians suffer from anxiety – how many of them are worsening their chances of overcoming it via the endless cycle of energy drinks/ poor sleep hygiene? It honestly makes me really mad. And the idea of Mother on tap in pubs to me is a disgrace. Grrrr.
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In the old days, when we had not long been together, my DH had a big night out and he drank vodka and red bull, the way he was acting was quite different to his normal behaviour when he’d had too much to drink, he wasn’t unpleasant/aggressive as I believe some people can get, just different. It was not pretty the next day. He rarely gets hangovers but the red bull added to the alcohol meant he didn’t feel nearly as drunk as he was.
Energy drinks and alcohol should never be mixed whether the drink is from a can or on tap.
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I can’t get my head around the fact that people combine high caffeine energy drinks & alcohol.
Stimulant + depressant = system overload?
It would have to have some sort of negative effect on the old nervous system.
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Energy drinks and alcohol is always going to be a bad idea, can or tap.
Why? Because one is an upper, the other is a downer. Simple.
That’s not going to stop people but it certainly stops me!
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My ‘drink of choice’ as an 18 yr old was vodka, redbull & grenadine. I used to drink up to 8 of these in one night. In a 50kg body, i hate to imagine what those energy drinks did to my heart, let alone what the alcohol did. I can now see how terribly bad it is for someone to drink these.
I always used to feel awful when i got home & felt nauseus from too much alcohol PLUS my heart was racing & i had shudders/shakes from the red bull. SHOCKING
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I can’t understand how anyone can drink them. They taste foul (ok, I’ve only ever tasted red bull, but they all smell the same)
I don’t think it makes a difference if they’re on tap or not. People will still drink them and abuse them. My sister works in a nightclub and I’ve seen her go through 4 or 5 in a day to keep her self awake (even after sleeping until 2pm). I’ve seen people who are designated drivers drink a few cans at the club to give them a non-alcoholic buzz.
Basically what I’m saying is I’ve never been anywhere that energy drinks have been on tap yet I’ve still seen countless situations where people guzzle them down anyway. All having them on tap will do is make the business more money by charging red bull prices for red bull syrup and water, and good on them if they can do that I say.
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I’m curious – is Mother on tap the same strength as in the can? I know that venues often alter the syrup/water ratio in postmix coke etc so it’s more profitable – would postmix energy drink be the same?
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I’ve wondered that myself…
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I agree…perhaps it’s actually better to have it as postmix than in a can?
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I don’t think it makes a difference whether it’s in a can or on tap. I recently went out and was introduced to Jaegar bombs – since the pre-mixed drinks are now taxed higher these are the new lolly water.
I drink the very occasional energy drink, although they taste utterly disgusting, I really need to be desperate to have one.
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you should try a skitle bomb… Jaegars are old school
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I can’t stand the taste of any of those drinks – I think its the guarana that I don’t like the taste of, and then they’re really sickly sweet. The only time I’ve had any was when I tried a sip years ago, and then more recently in Jagerbombs. I don’t mind it so much in a Jagerbomb, as you don’t exactly sip them for the taste!
Having worked in a pub, I know how many cans of red bull they go through for Jagerbombs, so it would be heaps easier for bar staff. And from what I’ve observed, people don’t sit on Jagerbombs all night – its only ever been one or two to kick things in and perk up – Jager is pretty lethal!
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I think it is the guarana. I can’t stand energy drinks either. Once I went to a club and asked for a smirnoff can and the first sip I took I almost spit it out! Apparantly they have smirnoff cans with guarana in them now! Gross
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I used to drink a V before starting work at 6am, but it was only once a fortnight and I gagged it down. I’ve had red bull in jager bombs, but not often – drinking isn’t something I really do often, it’s over a year since I last drank, but even before I was a mum I rarely drank.
I know a woman who basically lives off red bulls, or whatever energy drink she can get – she drinks them instead of eating.
I used to work at a supermarket and the amount of primary school aged kids I saw buying energy drinks used to make my skin crawl – when they bought them they had this look about them as if they were so cool, it was as if they had a fake ID and could buy booze. IMO they should be for over 16s only.
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In consultation with the p&c we banned them at the high school I work at, energy drinks are so bad for kids.
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I can’t imagine they’re all that much worse for you than the rest of the stuff that’s on tap?
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I have never tried the energy drinks, I am a weak coffee drinker but only 2 a week so I would hate to think what my body would do on these drinks.
We get a lot of people present to emergency at the hospital I work at after having too much energy drinks. They cause heart palpitations and they think they are dying/having heart attacks.
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I’ve never even tried one – none of the brands. I’m amazed to see high school kids, trolley boys, in fact it seems it’s a regular sight for anyone under the age of 25 and before 10am. And they’re not cheap!
I have a cup of tea first thing in the morning and another one around 1-2pm.
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what’s a trolley boy?
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The guys who get trolleys around the place at the shops.
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its bad stuff. we own a pub and sell the mixed drinks in a can. we try to limit the no. of drink one person might but in the night. the stuff can really send people crazy.
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Mother tastes like vomit in a can. No amount of caffeine hit can counter act that!
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The new Mother isn’t as bad as the old flavour of Mother. I try to avoid it. To me, Red Bull and V both taste like medicine.
Though I’ve mixed them with alcohol. It can be addictive =/
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I actually preferred the old taste of Mother. It reminded me a bit of the taste of root beer. But it still tasted like crap.
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I was the most unhealthy person in my late teens/lots of my twenties; binge drinking, injesting revolting substances, attempting to stay up partying days at a time. Ugh. I would have been onto this for sure. That said, I’m lucky I lived through some bits of that and would not recommend it. So I’m all for banning them. There are enough illegal and legal options for everyone, why keep adding to them?
Yuck, this trip down memory lane is making me feel nauseous. Drink water.
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Seems like another sad example of the way that we just won’t regulate ourselves when it comes to being ethical in our business dealings – any loophole is exploited, no matter the effects on health.
Seems like we should be pushing for solid evidence of the ill-effects of these drinks so that we can justify preventing bar owners from doing this and irresponsible/ignorant drinkers from damaging themselves and others. What role do these drinks have in increasing general aggression, anxiety and insomnia, too, regardless of alcohol consumption?
Just a note, too – high caffeine acts to multiple the bad effects of alcohol on germ cells and developing embryos and foetuses, so men and women should be fully aware of what they’re doing when they regularly consume these kinds of drinks.
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I used to drink Red Bull at uni when playing Dungeons and Dragons to help stay awake, as I didn’t like the taste of coffee. Some early mornings when we finished up I’d try to go to bed, but my heart would be racing and feeling like it was beating too fast, and my head would be spinning…..not good.
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As a drink themselves and the copious amounts people drink them in = Bad bad bad…
As a bar owner/manager/stock orderer keeping down the business costs, easier access for staff to the mixer, more space in the fridges, less whinging by the customer about using half/all/every drop of the can = Good
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This is the quandary I keep coming back to.
On tap means less packaging and therefore less garbage, less stock space, less materials wasted … but it also means caffeine drinks as a mixer can be sold much cheaper etc etc.
Imagine if we banned Coca-cola as a postmix but allowed it to still be sold in bottles in clubs – it would still be consumed at a huge rate.
Either ban high-caffeine energy drinks outright or be realistic to the needs of the industry – on tap probably makes more environmental and monetary sense.
I think there should be a genuine public dialogue about how dangerous these drinks are as alcoholic mixers (boozing plus energy equals chaos for our cops and healthcare workers), rather than looking at their packaging format.
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Oh yes.. sorry I think I forgot to put my stance that in general I think they are gross gross gross! I don’t understand the sudden surge, I do not like the promotion to young people especially..
Just this week on the bus each morning I was really shocked at the amount of people walking along having one for brekky – school, business people whatever.. that was just in the city! Funny this article came up today though..
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Energy drinks are not good. When I was at uni I became addicted to another brand of energy drink and it made me behave differently. After a month or two my group of friends staged an intervention and banned me from drinking those drinks at uni. They physically had to stop me from buying them as the withdrawal was not fun, but I felt sooooo much better after I gave them up – and apparently I was much nicer to be around!
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