High energy drinks, with and without alcohol: what do nurses know and do?

The current article provides a basic literature review on high energy drinks (HED), with and without alcohol, and presents the results of surveys completed by samples of psychiatric nurses and college students. The nurses' responses, including knowledge, attitudes, and practices are compared with student sample responses. HED, which have high caffeine contents, have become increasingly popular with teens and young adults. A recent trend documented in the literature is mixing HED with alcohol. Not only are youth and young adults (who are the highest users of these products) unaware of the dangers of such combination use, but faculty, clinicians, and administrators are also uninformed, misinformed, or unaware of the dangers associated with such use.