Health Minister Warns
Not To Mix "Red Bull"
With Alcohol or Drugs
Although the sale of the
energy drink Red Bull is
prohibited in some
countries, usually due
to its taurine content
or its alleged high
level of caffeine, the
drink is freely sold in
Costa Rica and now the
ministra de Salud
(health minister), María
Luisa Ávila Agüero, is
asking consumers not to
mix the drink and
alcohol or pills as the
mix can have fatal
consequences.
Although a number of
European countries like,
Switzerland and Finland,
have revised their
legislations to allow
drinks with taurine or
higher amounts of
caffeine, countries like
Norway, France, Uruguay,
Denmark, Iceland and
Canada do not allow the
sale of Red Bull.
Minister Avila said that
the energy drink can be
easily abused and cause
cardiac problems.
A common concern
regarding the beverage
is its supposedly high
caffeine level.
Proponents of the
beverage counter critics
by stating that a
serving has roughly the
same amount of caffeine
as that found in a cup
of coffee.
In 2007, a study
conducted by American
researchers concluded
that Red Bull, along
with other popular
energy drinks, could
boost both blood
pressure and heart
rates, prompting them to
warn those with heart
disease to avoid the
drinks due to the
possibility it could
reduce the effectiveness
of their medications.
The increases, however,
did not cause dangerous
levels in healthy
people. The various
measures of heart rate
all rose between 5-10
percent during the 1
week trial. Key
similarities between Red
Bull and the other
energy drinks named make
the study relevant to
the ongoing discussion
of Red Bull.
The original Red Bull
drink was developed in
Thailand by the company
TC Pharmaceutical, where
it was sold under the
Thai name 'Krating Daeng'.
The recipe was based on
Lipovitan, an earlier
energy drink that had
been introduced to
Thailand from Japan.
Krating Daeng sales
soared across Asia in
the 1970s and 1980s,
especially among truck
drivers, construction
workers and farmers.
Truck drivers used to
drink it to stay awake
during the long late
night drive. The working
class image was boosted
by sponsorship of Thai
boxing matches, where
the logo of two red
bulls charging each
other was often on
display. |
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