Many transport workers, especially commercial drivers in Lagos, have become addicted to the daily consumption of energy and other alcoholic drinks despite repeated warnings from health experts that such a habit could cause dire health problems. PUNCH HealthWise, in this report, investigates this culture of addiction to energy drinks by drivers in Lagos. AMARACHI OKEH reports
Sitting at a spot in the garage located in Terminal One at Oshodi after returning from his first interstate trip from Ibadan to Lagos, Lasisi Ahmed – a tall and dark-skinned man takes a sip from a bottle containing a dilution of his favourite drink.
Ahmed is one of the many drivers in the rowdy Oshodi park in Lagos.
Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise about his love for energy drinks, Ahmed said he could not go a day without taking at least 12 sachets of his favourite energy drink, passion.
He boasted that many people now call him the name of the brand of energy drink that he is loyal to. He added that even his children call him baba passion.
Energy drinks give me power to drive
“It gives me energy as a driver. I drink like two packs per day. It gives me energy for work, especially when I am stuck in heavy traffic or when I enter bad roads. I take it so that I don’t become weak and sleep off while driving.
Asked if he can ever go a day without taking even a sachet of his favourite brand, he laughed, telling our correspondent that “This thing has ‘magnated’ me. I can’t go a day without it. If I don’t take it a day, I don’t know what will happen,” he said.
But when our correspondent asked if he was aware he might be addicted to the drink, he laughed it off, stating that it has never had any adverse effect on him because he sometimes takes it even before bedtime.
In Nigeria, energy drinks are categorised under soft drinks; hence the tendency for their abuse. Many of those who drink them are hardly bothered about-the drinks having any adverse effects.
Research by Marketing Edge, a marketing company stated that the energy drink market is now a ‘lucrative and viable sector’ with the market forecasted to have a yearly consumption growth of over 6.5% by 2022.”
Caffeine is the major ingredient in energy drinks, but their concentration varies according to different brands. Energy drinks can also contain other ingredients such as guarana (another source of caffeine), sugars, taurine, ginseng, B vitamins, glucuronolactone, Yohimbe, carnitine, and bitter orange.
Experts have, however, warned against the regular intake of energy drinks. They stated that regular energy drink consumption had been linked with several medical problems, including seizures, anxiety, hallucinations, arrhythmias, and other cardiovascular complications.
In 2016, the World Health Organisation stated that energy drinks are “a danger to public health,” after the agency found that the consumption of such beverages was on the rise.
The manufacturers of this drink promise that their drinks will re-invigorate the users and enhance mental alertness and physical performance hence the dependency on this drink by the users who believe these claims.
During our correspondent’s visit to the ever-busy Oshodi bus stop, it was observed that no drink vendor was without different brands of cold energy drinks in their stash.
The targets for the sellers are majorly the bus drivers, like Ahmed, loaders, commuters, and passers-by.
One of the sellers told our correspondent that the energy drinks were in high demand and often the first to finish before the soft drinks or water even.
I can’t take energy drinks alone, I must mix them with alcohol
Our correspondent also met a man in his 30s who simply identified himself as Ayomide, a transport coordinator, who said his day is made a lot easier by taking at least a bottle daily.
When our correspondent visited the park, Ayomide had in his hand a can of energy drink but he informed our correspondent that it was not just an energy drink alone, but rather a mixture of that and alcohol.
He said that he does not get pumped up for the daily task if he has not taken a can and what’s more, is that he cannot drink it alone. It must be mixed with alcohol for it to be super effective, he said.
He said, “I take energy drinks to have strength for work. This kind of work is really stressful, and as the country is now, things are even harder, so we have to work harder, so I take energy drinks to keep me active.
“Since I can’t take alcohol alone, I use energy drinks to mix it to reduce the strength of the alcohol.”
Other transport workers who spoke with our correspondent said they could not go a day without at least one bottle of the energy-enhancing drinks, while some said they often had more than a bottle.
From the interaction with several bus drivers, it was discovered that most of them take energy drinks daily and also often mix them with alcohol.
Mixing alcohol with energy drinks risky –Study
Studies have, however, warned that this practice is risky to health.
2014 research titled: ‘Energy drink consumption in Europe: a review of the risks, adverse health effects, and policy options to respond’ warned that mixing alcohol and energy drink is riskier than drinking alcohol alone.
It stated further that this they si because energy drinks make it harder for people to notice when they are getting drunk even though there is no reduction in intoxication.
The researchers also said, “excessive caffeine consumption combined with strenuous physical activity can be dangerous.”
Energy drinks help me perform better at sex
While some drivers rely on the consumption of energy drinks to see out their day-to-day activities, others said they depend on it for optimal sexual performance.
One such person is a driver, who identified himself as Ibrahim. He told our correspondent that he prefers it to sex-enhancing drugs, adding that when he takes energy drinks in the daytime due to the strenuous nature of his job, he can have a good sex session later in the evening after work.
He added that he prefers to also use it as a form of sexual performance enhancer.
He said, “I also take it to give me strength for sex. Since it is not a sex performance-enhancing drug, I think it is ok like that because it won’t do anything to me. It just gives me energy.
He also stated that because some of the energy drinks have high sugar content, he resorts to ‘flushing’ the sugar from his body system religiously with herbal drinks.
Energy drinks have no health benefit
However, in an earlier interview with PUNCH HealthWise, a professor of medicine at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Olufemi Fasanmade stressed that there is no health benefit in taking energy drinks save that it contains caffeine.
