The Caffeine Controversy

Should kids be allowed to buy energy drinks?

Caffeine, hands down, is the most popular and widely abused drug on the planet, but there are some major disagreements when it comes to who should be using it. Since caffeine is a major ingredient in energy drinks, it’s important to know the facts about how this substance negatively affects the human body – especially young bodies.

Because so many kids are getting hooked on caffeinated energy drinks, there have been a lot of studies done to examine the possible effects of the stimulant on young bodies. It usually takes between 5 and 30 minutes for caffeine to circulate throughout an average adult body after you drink a cup of coffee. However, the affects can last as long as the caffeine hangs around in your blood system, which is usually for about 12 hours.

A lot of kids drink caffeinated beverages to keep them alert for work or studying late into the night. If you drink caffeine in small amounts, it will stimulate your brain and central nervous system, making you more alert, energetic and downright hyperactive – which can make for a good study aid. However, when a person ingests caffeine, they often don’t consider the caffeine they’ve already consumed through other foods and drinks.

You might not think so, but teas (unless they’re specifically decaffeinated), sodas, chocolate bars and candies all contain caffeine. Toss a few energy drinks back on top of that, and many kids end up with unexplained sleep problems, bedwetting and anxiety. Caffeine may also lead to irritability, dangerously accelerated heart rates, restlessness, excitability, dizziness, headaches, concentration lapses, gastro-intestinal pain, dehydration and, in the worst-case scenario, overdose.

Caffeine works as a stimulant. It acts upon the body’s central nervous system, basically speeding up the messages that are sent to and from the brain. That’s why someone who’s just had a cup of coffee feels instantly on top of what’s happening around them. If you drink caffeine in moderation, say 4 cups of coffee a day (that’s about the equivalent of 1¼ energy drinks) it’s doubtful you’ll suffer any long-term damage. However, if you keep up that 4-cup-a-day java habit, you may end up with a pretty raunchy stomach.

Now, give that same amount of caffeine to a child on a regular basis and the effects are doubled. However, many parents concentrate on the drink itself, rather than what it contains. For example, most parents wouldn’t give their 8-year-old 3 cups of coffee, but they have no problems buying them an energy drink – even though the caffeine in just one energy drink is equal to 3 cups of coffee. You tell me what’s worse?

To do some serious damage with coffee, a person would have to drink quite a bit. For example, 10 cups might put them to sleep, 20 cups might do permanent stomach damage and 75 cups might cause them to overdose and die. You’re probably thinking that it would be seriously difficult to ingest 30 cups of liquid all at once – and you’d be right. However, the equivalent of 10 energy drinks (which is equal to about 30 cups of coffee) is much more viable. Figure in a still-developing body and a child will react much more drastically with involuntary shaking, nausea, vomiting, irregular or rapid heart rate, panic attack and confusion.

Luckily, extreme caffeine overdose doesn’t typically occur with children and more likely happens when alcohol or drugs are involved. Typically, mixing caffeine and alcohol results in a false sense of courage that masks much of the negative feelings of alcohol. Dehydration will often occur before alcohol or caffeine overdose. However, with a child, caffeine overdose can occur with much smaller dosage. Studies show that children have reacted negatively to just one gram of caffeine, which equates to about 12 energy drinks.

Like most other drugs, people can become physically and psychologically dependent on caffeine. Some experts say as little as 350-milligrams of caffeine a day, which is equal to about four energy drinks, could cause an addiction. If you’re craving an energy drink or a soda, and you can’t concentrate without it, chances are you’re a caffeine junkie.