University of Florida News

Energy drink video

Supers:
Gainesville, FL
Dr. Dennis Thombs / UF health researcher
Dr. Bruce Goldberger / UF toxicology researcher

VO:
YOUNG ADULTS ARE USING ENERGY DRINKS FOR MORE THAN A BOOST TO GET THROUGH THE DAY. EXPERTS SAY THEY’RE INCREASINGLY MIXING THOSE DRINKS WITH ALCOHOL… WHICH COULD PROVE RISKY.
A NEW UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDY OF COLLEGE-AGE ADULTS LEAVING BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS REVEALS A HIGHER POTENTIAL FOR DRINKING AND DRIVING AFTER COMBINING ALCOHOL WITH ENERGY DRINKS.

SOT (Thombs):
“Perhaps what is going on with the drinking and driving issue is that young adults believe that energy drinks make it safer to drink heavily so they may even plan to consume energy drinks with alcohol because it makes them think it overcomes the debilitating effects of alcohol.” (:20 sec)

VO:
RESEARCHERS SAY THIRTEEN PERCENT OF PEOPLE IN THEIR STUDY LEAVING BARS ARE MIXING THE TWO DRINKS. THE STUDY ALSO SHOWS PEOPLE HAVE A TENDENCY TO DRINK MORE WHEN THEY COMBINE ENERGY DRINKS WITH ALCOHOL.

SOT (Goldberger):
“There is a very common misconception that if you drink caffeine with an alcoholic beverage that the stimulant effects of the caffeine counteracts the depressant effects of the alcohol and that is not true. We know that is aggravates the degree of intoxication, which can lead to risky behaviors.” (:20 sec)

VO:
U-F RESEARCHERS HOPE THIS STUDY HELPS LEAD TO REGULATIONS AND POSSIBLE WARNING LABELS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF MIXING ENERGY DRINKS AND ALCOHOL. AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, I’M CHRIS BILOWICH.

Note: Downloadable videos are encoded at 720x486 using the Photo-JPEG codec. Audio is encoded at 44.1 kHz and unmixed.