When students launch shots of hard liquor into caffeinated energy drinks, they are in for more than just a buzz, according to David Pearson, director of the strength and research laboratory.
Mixing stimulants with alcohol is a more dangerous practice than alcohol consumption alone, he said.
Continuing to consume alcohol past normal limits drives blood alcohol concentration "extremely high," he said.
"You end up drinking more alcohol than you would normally because the stimulants give you the false sense that you are not as drunk as you are," Pearson said.
The drinks are usually not mixed with other drinks such as beer, which has a lower alcohol content than hard liquor, he said.
Zack Ray, shift leader at The Locker Room, said energy drinks such as Red Bull were most often mixed with vodka and J+â-ñgermeister. Some combinations, called "bombs" involve dropping a shot of liquor into a glass of Red Bull. Some common versions of these drinks include "J+â-ñger Bombs" and "Cherry Bombs," he said.
Kent Bullis, medical director of the Amelia T. Wood Student Health Center, said mixing energy drinks with alcohol put students at a higher risk for alcohol poisoning and respiratory failure.
"Usually when you binge drink, you eventually pass out, and that's a good thing," he said. "It's what protects you from drinking more than your body can take."
The caffeine in energy drinks, however, provides a boost of energy, keeping its consumers up longer and giving them more opportunities to drink past their physical limits, he said.
According to the Red Bull Web site, each can has about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee.
Bullis said students were also more susceptible to dehydration, because both alcohol and caffeine are diuretics.
Pearson said the energy boost would inevitably be followed with a crash.
"Those types of stimulants are not really giving you energy," he said. "They give you a false boost and you will come down hard. Add that to a hangover and you're in for a rough morning."
The cycling from high to low can turn into a vicious pattern that's hard to break, he said.
"You find yourself consuming stimulants to stay awake, crashing from them and having to drink more just to stay awake again," he said.
Ray said with all the cautions, energy drinks mixed with alcohol were still a popular item in the local bars.
"People know what they're getting into," he said. "I haven't seen any worse behavior than when people order just plain alcohol."
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