(January 24, 2008) -- The project was assigned a month ago, yet students still sit in front of their computers at 2 a.m. when it’s dark and cold, trying hard to finish what they can. With no energy left in their bodies, a nice cold Red Bull or Monster seems like a great idea at the moment. Its appeal is obvious—extra energy—but its effect on the body is nothing to be desired.

Energy drinks are the fastest growing craze in liquid beverages since companies came out with diet soda. Red Bull was first introduced to the U.S. in 1997 and, according to Kerry A. Dolan of forbes.com, quickly stole 47 percent of all energy drink revenue. By 2001 the profit for energy drinks grew to $8 million per year. According to the Mintel Energy Drink Report 2006 – 2007, it is expected that by 2010, the energy drink company will be worth $10 billion.

Some say that energy drinks have taken the place of soda in most teens’ lives. Sophomore Narek Grigoryan said that energy drinks allow him to get enough energy to maintain his schoolwork and extracurricular activities. Grigoryan said he drinks energy drinks about three times a week, just to keep up. He enjoys the bittersweet taste energy drinks have, but he says some are better than others. “I like Monster more than the other ones because it’s sweeter.”  He also explained that energy drinks do well when he procrastinates. “When I’m up late finishing a project at the very last minute I drink them so I am able to stay up long enough to get a decent grade.” Grigoryan said that without the drink, he can get very tired and make errors he would have otherwise corrected had he not been so tired.

For others, the idea of drinking energy from a can is not as desirable. Junior Lillit Zarabyan says she does not find anything appealing about energy drinks. “They taste bad and I don’t feel a big energy rush when I drink them. They’re pointless.” Zarabyan said that energy drinks cause more harm than they do good; and to some extent she speaks the truth.

Red Bull is banned in countries like France and Denmark. France banned the drink after an 18-year-old athlete died form drinking four cans of it; the French Scientific Committee concluded that it was the extreme amounts of caffeine in the drink that caused the athlete to die. A single serving of Red Bull has the same amount of caffeine as six ounces of brewed coffee and twice the amount of caffeine found in Coke.