Clipping Red Bull's wings?
Published May 04, 2004
On Sunday, The People - a paper that I do not consider serious reading but is worth the occasional perusal - reported the effects of drinking five cans of Red Bull on the system of one of its reporters. The journalist drank five cans in succession, her heart rate and tension rising with every finished can.
She was declared unfit to drive after consuming the five cans of stimulant energy drink, reportedly feeling too edgy and excitable. She also wrote that she had trouble sleeping and had a bad headache in the morning.
Well, pardon me, but, no duh! If you consume five cans in a row of a caffeine-and-sugar packed drink, you are bound to feel that way. Five Red Bulls would equal nearly 15 cups of sugared coffee. (There is, however, a sugar-free version of Red Bull now on the market.)
France and Denmark have banned the drink, while Sweden considers doing so. That is not the way to deal with the potentially harmful effects of Red Bull.
A few years ago, there was a controversy over mixing alcoholic drinks with Red Bull. This was because the heavy caffeine content in the Red Bull made it hard to judge just how much alcohol the drinker was consuming. People passed out due to taking in more alcohol than they thought they were drinking. The controversy washed over without much becoming of it; bars still sell cans of Red Bull.
Regarding the latest controversy surrounding the drink, I find it hard to imagine that anyone would want to consume five cans of Red Bull. People might drink two in a row, and they would then be quite a tad energetic. However, what kind of science dictated the decisions of two nations to ban the drink because it has the potential to make idiots that drink more than two cans at one sitting very uncomfortable?
True enough, I sure as hell don't want anybody driving completely wired from too much caffeine. I would punish that as severely as driving while drunk or stoned.
France isn't about to ban coffee. What's to stop me from consuming three or four espressos on a lovely warm Niçois morning? I can have as much coffee as I like, in France or anywhere. In fact, banning Red Bull for being too heavily caffeinated is as ludicrous as banning Everclear for having too heavy an alcohol content. Or maybe the French think of Red Bull as a religious symbol, hence its ban. (The Danes and Swedes, being Scandinavians, have always been keen to ban substances that either intoxicate or stimulate.)
Banning is not the answer to the Red Bull "crisis." Yes, caffeine, like any drug, has the potential to harm if overdosed on. So slap a warning on the cans.
But banning the drink is prohibition, and prohibition is the ultimate evil.
Mark Edward Manning grew up in Boston, MA and now lives in London, England. He wrote commentaries for The Boston Herald in the mid 1990s.
- Clipping Red Bull's wings?
- Published: May 04, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Politics
- Writer: Mark Edward Manning
- Mark Edward Manning's BC Writer page
- Mark Edward Manning's personal site
- Spread the Word
- Like this article?
- Email this
Save to del.icio.us
Comments on this articleComments
The caffeine in one can of Red Bull equals that of one cup of filtered coffee - It's not that bad!
Yeah, Mishal, that's journalistic reporting a la Hunter Thompson! (lol)
we drink red bull at work to give us energy while talking to our clients, but i think if you drink more than 2 your a big idiot and you should just lock yourself in your room and try banging your head against a wall for 30 minutes, im sure you'll get the same effect. red bull good, people who drink to much of it......retarded.
You'll love this, easy: In today's news, an idiot here in Britain led police on a high-speed chase after drinking 20 - yep, I said twenty - cans of Red Bull. Police said there was no alcohol or drugs in his system whey they tested him. Ummm - no drugs?! Caffeine? Sugar? Those aren't drugs?
Like anything, Red Bull can certainly be abused. I'd say that driver abused it - and then some. If it's possible to rape and molest a substance beyond recognition, that's the definition of it. 20 cans ... my God!
Anything in excess is bad for you. I like Red Bull, but I think it's pretty obviously a stupid idea to drink five cans of it at once. Would you drink five cans of beer in a row, get drunk/a hangover the next day, and blame the beer? It's the person's own fault.
Well, lets put it this way. The Red Bull website recommends drinking a can of Red Bull before a strenuous activity or something that requires extreme focus/concentration or energy.
A friend of mine, and yes we were about 15-17 at the time, decided that on the day of his first real show with his band he'd get a good start. Drank a Red Bull, went for a run. Drank a Red Bull, went to practice. Drank another Red Bull to set stuff up for the show and finally, just before the show, he drank another Red Bull. That's only what, 4 cans?, in a day?
Well, he didn't make it through the show. He was on such a rush, he passed out on stage, we had to bail on the show and carry him off and cart him to emerg.
Red Bull is just one of those things that you have to think about before you drink. If you missed some sleep, by all means have one. If you're going drinking, I wouldn't. Caffiene always masks the effects of alcohol and of course, like the author wrote, you'll probably take in far more alcohol than you original thought.
Take it how you will, folks.
i drink alot of red bull
and used 2 b relly obssesd wiv like 3 canz a day but now i;ve calmed down
but im being honest the main reason i drink it iz becasue of its side effetcs
depression
wow i luv dat feelin it makes me at peace
you might fink im mad by saying that but
i dont think i am
alot of people want peace
and weakness is peace
depression is peace
wel.. 2 me it iz
can i drink 3 in 1 day, like every few hours?... i've had 2 so far and its not doing a very good job, i just need help staying up tonite for an assignment
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/15382)
My idiot boss drinks this stuff like water and he gets migrains all the time. For some reason I keep forgetting to tell him about the possible connection.