People who drink Red Bull or other “energy drinks” mixed with alcohol during a night out are twice as likely to be injured or otherwise come to harm than those who have alcoholic drinks on their own, research suggests.

Those who drink energy-drink cocktails are also more than twice as likely to take advantage of someone else sexually, and almost twice as likely to accept a lift from a drink-driver or to be taken advantage of themselves, a study of students in the US found.

An estimated 330 million litres of energy drinks were consumed in Britain last year, a market worth £1 billion. The study suggests that products such as Red Bull, which contain stimulants such as caffeine and taurine, may allow drinkers to consume more alcohol without noticing its negative effects.

Mary Claire O’Brien, who led the research at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina, said: “We knew anecdotally – from speaking with students, and from researching internet blogs and websites – that college students mix energy drinks and alcohol in order to drink more, and to drink longer. But we were surprised that the risk of serious and potentially deadly consequences was so much higher for those who mixed energy drinks with alcohol, even when we adjusted for the amount of alcohol.”

Dr O’Brien and her team conducted an online survey of 4,271 college students from ten universities, asking them 300 questions about alcohol use, its consequences, and other behaviour likely to endanger health. Of those who reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days, 24 per cent said that they consumed alcohol mixed with energy drinks. They drank significantly more than average and reported twice as many instances of drunkenness.

The findings were reported yesterday at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in Washington.

A young woman died of alcohol poisoning in a nightclub in Dublin this year after consuming numerous cocktails of Red Bull and vodka. The Swedish National Food Administration has warned people to avoid drinking Red Bull with alcohol or after heavy exercise, while France and Denmark have banned the drink. Health departments in Ireland, Turkey, Sweden and the United States have all expressed concern.

Some researchers believe that taurine can help to reverse liver damage by counteracting the build-up of fat in the liver caused by heavy drinking. Dr O’Brien said that colleges and universities, universities, should reconsider the practice of selling discounted energy drinks during club nights.

Mixing caffeine, which is a stimulant, with alcohol, a depressant, was like getting into a car and applying the accelerator and brake pedals at the same time. “Only the symptoms of drunkenness are reduced – but not the drunkenness. They can’t tell if they’re drunk. They can’t tell if someone else is drunk. So they get hurt, or they hurt someone else,” she said.

Rachel Cooke, a spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, said: “Drinking energy drinks can reduce the relaxing effect of alcohol, which may lead to drinking more alcohol than one might normally drink. Also, the caffeine in energy drinks is dehydrating, which may slow down the metabolism of alcohol in the body.”

A spokeswoman for Red Bull said that the company would not comment until it had thoroughly assessed the study. “Until that process is complete we can only stress what we have always said, which is to drink Red Bull responsibly, whatever the occasion.”

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