Stimulant drinks such as Red Bull should carry a clear warning on their label advising people to exercise caution when drinking them with alcohol, a new report advises.
The Food Safety Promotion Board (FSPB) report also recommends that stimulant drinks should not be consumed in association with sport and exercise as a thirst quencher. Such drinks should carry a clear statement on the label that they are "unsuitable rehydration agents" for use in sport and during exercise, said the report, which has been seen by The Irish Times.
It also recommended that the drinks be labelled with an indication that they are unsuitable for children, pregnant women and people sensitive to caffeine.
The Stimulant Drinks Committee of the FSPB, established to examine the effects of such drinks, had a number of concerns about the marketing and promotion of stimulant drinks including misleading claims; suggestions that stimulant drinks reduce the requirement for sleep; the lack of recommended upper consumption limits; ambiguous information on the consumption of such drinks with alcohol; and the promotion of stimulant drinks in association with sport.
The committee said that industry regulators and the relevant authorities needed to address such practices.
A survey on the consumption of stimulant drinks commissioned by the FSPB in the Republic and Northern Ireland last year found that 51 per cent of 11- to 35-year-olds had consumed stimulant drinks at least once. One in 10 of those who had ever consumed such drinks did so regularly, with the highest prevalence among men aged 19 to 24. It also found that such drinks were "frequently consumed" with alcohol, particularly vodka.
On average, the most consumed in a single session by those who had ever drunk stimulant drinks was approximately three cans, rising to about eight cans in the highest cases.
The investigation was hampered by the limited amount of information available and therefore the committee adopted a "precautionary approach" to its review. It recommended that further research be carried out in a number of areas to establish safe upper consumption limits and the possible adverse effect of interactions between stimulant drink ingredients such as caffeine and taurine, and between such ingredients and alcohol, particularly when people have been exercising and are consequently dehydrated through sweating.
The committee recognised that in order to undertake a full risk assessment of the ingredients of stimulant drinks and their interactions, extensive research would need to be conducted. "Such research would require toxicological investigations that would best be carried out at a concerted international level."
For the purposes of the report, stimulant drinks were defined as those which typically contained caffeine, taurine and vitamins, and may contain an energy source such as carbohydrate or other substances "marketed for the specific purpose of providing real or perceived enhanced physiological and/or performance effects".
The report expressed concern that some promotional material for these drinks encouraged people to drink them rather than sleep, and to consume them "around the clock".