A bad mix.

Cocktails which combine spirits with caffeinated energy drinks pose more health and safety risks for their drinkers than alcohol alone, according to a US study. The study--which involved 4,271 students from 10 American universities--found that, compared with young people who drank alcohol alone, those who drank cocktails containing alcohol and energy drinks were around twice as likely to get injured, require medical attention, be a passenger in a car with a drunken driver, be taken advantage of sexually or take advantage of someone else sexually. Those who drank the energy drink cocktails also consumed more drinks than those who drank alcohol alone. Study author Marie Claire O'Brien, from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, said that these cocktails were popular among young people because they allow them to 'drink more, and to drink longer'. However, she said that the caffeine contained in energy drinks also masks feelings of drunkenness, leading young people to underestimate how drunk they are and take unnecessary risks. The study, Caffeinated cocktails: Get wired, get drunk, get injured was presented at the American Public Health Association's annual meeting held in November 2007 (West Australian, 6/11/07, p.19; Herald Sun, 7/11/07, p.21 ; West Australian, 21/11/07, p.4; Sunday Tasmanian, 20/01/08, p.8).