A 28-year-old insurance worker from Essex in England was so hooked on energy drinks — so much so that he spent £75 (approx. $114) every week on those caffeine-laden beverages — that it almost cost him his life.
Martin Bowling, however, collapsed at The Bull pub in Romford on June 1 and suffered a massive heart attack after downing eight energy drinks. He was brought to Queen’s Hospital, with exceedingly high caffeine levels found in his bloodstream.
Bowling, who was watching a boxing match at the time, did not experience any warning signs and did not know what was happening even if there was physical pain.
"I just remember hitting the floor and waking up in the hospital. Now I see those drinks as death in a can," he recounted, owing his dangerous addiction to the relatively affordable price of and easy access to energy drinks.
"[It] was like I'd become mentally addicted … Sometimes, I could find myself in arguments if I hadn't had one," he said, recalling the gradual increase in his consumption when he was 21.
Bowling said that energy drinks helped him sleep, and that he craved one even while warned by doctors that elevated caffeine levels were fueling his attachment to those cans.
Senior dietician Victoria Taylor of the British Heart Foundation warned that children and young adults are especially at risk of caffeine addiction and can have an exaggerated response to the substance.
"[S]ome people can be more sensitive to its effects," she said, calling for an avoidance of energy drinks to limit caffeine intake.
A 250-milliliter can of energy drink usually offers about the same caffeine found in a single cup of coffee.
According to Gavin Partington of the British Soft Drinks Association, consumers can find caffeine information on energy drink labels, with companies recommending moderate consumption.
Labeling on Red Bull cans, for instance, suggests individuals with heart disease, irregular heartbeat or high blood pressure avoid consuming the product.
Drinking a 250-milliliter can of the sugar-free variety was also found to increase blood "stickiness" and the risk for dangerous clots, a 2008 study shows.
When pressed for comment, Red Bull directed inquiries to the British Soft Drinks Association.
Photo: Mike Mozart | Flickr
