By Staff Writer Lynn Arbid

With heavy workloads and long nights, students  relying on energy drinks is not a new phenomenon. Many know the dangers of beverages like Rockstar, Amp, Monster, and Red Bull, but they often forget how real these dangers are. Teenagers need to stop depending on the energy drinks that have often resulted in illness, emergency room visits, and even death.

According to the “New York Times”, about a third of 12- to 24-year-olds regularly consume energy drinks. Federal data shows that an increasing number of emergency room patients, a majority of them young adults, are being treated for complications related to energy drinks.

According to a report done by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, from 2007 to 2011, the number of energy drink related hospital visits doubled. In 2011, energy drinks were named as the primary cause or primary contributing factor to 20,783 emergency room visits.

In December of 2012, 14-year-old in Maryland, Anais Fournier, died from cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity, after consuming two cans of Monster in a 24-hour-period. Fournier had mitral valve prolapse, a heart condition in which one of her heart valves malfunctioned. The scary truth is that the National Institute of Health report this condition to be usually harmless, as many as one in ten people have a minor form of the condition.

Also, in July of last year, a 19-year-old, Alex Morris, also of cardiac arrhythmia. Morris was never diagnosed with a heart defect, but the regular consumption of Monster, including on the day he died, put extraordinary strain on his heart. Parents of both teenagers have sued Monster claiming that the product had not warned of the possible dangers of consuming the beverage.

These may seem like extreme cases, but they are not anomalies. Annually, thousands of teenagers are diagnosed with underlying heart conditions. Many schools, like NNHS, now perform EKG testing to diagnose irregular heart rhythms before students show symptoms or suffer life-threatening consequences. Furthermore, if one consumes energy drinks daily, like Morris, the choice could ultimately result in death, regardless of their body’s overall health. Anyone who consumes the harmful drinks could very easily face this morbid reality.

The danger of caffeine comes from consuming more than 500 mg a day. Overdose may cause insomnia, cardiac arrest, headaches, vomiting, nausea, irregular heart rhythms, and muscular tremors. Starbucks’ bottled Frappunccino, sold in stores like many energy drinks, contains 90 mg of caffeine in its 9.5 fluid ounces. However, Rockstar Energy drinks contains 240 mg of caffeine inside every 16 fl. Oz. Double the caffeine and double the serving. Also, many energy drinks contain Guaranine, an ingredient that has similar effects on the body. Guaranine is typically not included in the total caffeine count, but it can be just as harmful to the body.

The risks of consuming energy drinks far outweigh the short-lived energy buzz. Instead of relying on artificial energy, students should plan for homework and know their limits. After all, we’re only human. This way you will not need to rely on such beverages to keep you awake. If worse comes to worst, I know I would rather have my paper marked a day late than end up in the emergency room.