Youth consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks in Canada: Assessing the role of energy drinks

Consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) is a risk behaviour among youth, and previous research has reported a positive association between binge drinking and AmED consumption. However, limited research has examined how regular consumption of energy drinks is associated with AmED consumption among youth. The purpose of this report is to examine the role of energy drink use on AmED consumption in a Canadian youth population. Using data from the 2015–2016 COMPASS survey including 35,300 grade 9 to 12 students, two logistic regression models investigated if the inclusion of energy drink consumption in the past week altered the results of a model examining AmED consumption. In this sample, 13.2% of students reported AmED consumption in the last 12 months. Those who reported drinking energy drinks in the past week were 3.38 times more likely to consume AmED than those who did not drink energy drinks. The inclusion of past week energy drink use decreased the effect size of other associated substance use behaviours. This report demonstrates that past week energy drink use is associated with increased likelihood of AmED consumption and suggests that previous research may have missed this important contributor. These findings along with existing energy drink research highlight the importance of addressing the lack of energy drink regulations in Canada.