People heading out to the clubs might want to find a new favourite drink and start leaving the jager-bombs on the counter.
Researchers from Dalhousie University’s psychology and psychiatric departments completed a study last year on the effects of combining energy drinks with alcohol while drinking.
The study, published in the May 2010 edition of Drug and Alcohol Review, found that those who drank energy drinks in combination with alcohol drank significantly more than they did without energy drinks.
“Mixing alcohol with energy drinks makes you feel like you can drink more since you are more alert, so it’s hard to monitor if someone had too many drinks because they don’t show any signs of intoxication or it takes them longer,” said Julian David, 21, a bartender for Capital Cruises.
Chris Gouveia, a first-year science student at Carleton, said he has noticed these effects.
“When I used to mix alcohol with energy drinks, I would lose my ability to make good decisions in a much different way than when I drink alcohol without [them]. My judgment got worse because I felt as though I was not actually drunk and I thought that I could manage any situation normally. This is definitely not the case and has landed me in some bad situations,” Gouveia said.
One in four university students who drink alcohol are mixing it with energy drinks, according to a 2007 study at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
The mixes are so popular that jager-bomb nights are held often, according to Kieran Connolly, an 18-year-old bartender at Le Volt club in Gatineau.
“There is enough scientific data to show that combining alcohol with any stimulant is a bad idea that could lead to risky behaviour,” said Michael Scippa, public affairs director of Alcohol Justice, an organization whose self-professed goal is to protect the public from the impact of the alcohol industry’s negative practices.
A major problem in the U.S. with regulation of alcoholic energy drinks is limited federal control, according to Scippa.
“It is a very difficult and complex area to try to regulate. In the United States, it would have to be done state by state,” Scippa said.
In Canada, the federal government decides which products can be sold, and provincial and territorial authorities determine where and how health products will be sold in their respective jurisdiction, according to Health Canada.
“The marketing ‘geniuses’ who run alcohol and energy drink companies know full well the sweet spot — price points — that will maximize sales,” Scippa said.
He said he believes energy drink makers are encouraging students to drink the combination by making their alcoholic pre-mixes cheaper than their regular energy drinks.
“[They are] targeting the most price sensitive demographic . . . youth.”