With the recent ban on alcohol/caffeine combo drink Four Loko in five states, the war on booze-filled energy drinks continues, bolstered by new research showing that heavy consumers are more likely to become alcoholics.
Research published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research surveyed more than 1,000 students at a public university about their alcohol and energy drink consumption over the past 12 months. Those who drank more than one energy drink a week were more likely to start drinking at an earlier age, drink more per session, and develop alcohol dependence.
Alternatively, they just might be doing CS degrees.
I hate to pull out this hoary chestnut, but correlation ≠ causation. I’d be curious to see if there was a similar link to other binging/over-indulgence related activities, like junk food eating, or high-intensity smoking. Perhaps people addicted to energy drinks were just more likely to have “addictive personalities.”
