If you're consuming alcoholic drinks mixed with caffeine or alcoholic energy drinks, then you might be more likely to be arrested for DUI than a person sipping liquor with no caffeine. This is because caffeine may lead people to underestimate how drunk they really are. Food and Safety News reports that the caffeine mixed with alcohol can give drivers a false sense of sobriety, so people could feel okay to drive when they're actually significantly impaired.
Studies say that the dangers of mixing alcohol with caffeine don't stop at the increased likelihood of drunk driving. The alcohol and caffeine combination can also pose a greater risk for alcohol poisoning, inflicting injury to oneself or another person, and being taken advantage of sexually.
Last November, the Food and Drug Administration cited caffeinated alcoholic beverages on the market as "potential health and safety issues." FDA threatened to remove beverages that had alcohol and caffeine in them from the market last year, but so far no action has been taken. The FDA's threat came after 18 state attorneys general and 1 city attorney expressed concern about the growing popularity and safety of the alcoholic energy drinks.
In Southern California, there are Los Angeles DUI defense lawyers that are also familiar with the dangers of mixing alcohol with caffeine. There's currently no laws that have banned caffeinated alcoholic beverages from the market, but they'll be the first to know if such a law ever does go into effect.
For more general information, please visit our Related Resources links.
Related Resources:
- Will the FDA Ban Alcoholic Energy Drinks? (FindLaw's Common Law Blog)
- Find a Los Angeles DUI Defense Lawyer (FindLaw)
- Caffeinated Booze Four Loko, Not Drugs, Sickened Wash. Students (FindLaw's Common Law Blog)
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