Sugar nor caffeine is not bad in moderation, but diet drinks which artificial sweeteners are extremely bad. Aspartame crosses the blood brain barrier and is suggested to be a cumulative substance.
However little in the way of rigorous science apart from one study that showed no short term effects in a sample of 48 volunteers, The study noted that it was impossible to get those reporting side effects to take part. As such it did not address self-observed sensitivity. As most of the negative stories are regarding long term effects it's value is not great. I drink maybe 2 or 3 small (150ml or 5oz cans of normal coke a month) and a lot of espresso.

About ten years ago, I was working outside and was drinking this crap.
I had not heard about the caffeine content and by the end of the day, I was in the
ER.

I never drank soda pop. Raised my daughter the same way.

"Soda pop is a non-food," I explained. "It's just a load of sugar and chemicals."

I have never been a fan of energy drinks. But I do have one weakness: "I get my one coffee (strong, black, no sugar) at breakfast, and nobody gets hurt.".

I have never been a fan of coffee or any sodas. I don't deal well with carbonated beverages, never have. I used to drink the 5 hour energy drinks but decided they were too expensive. I do drink gallons of water a day, I figure I'm getting extra steps with the potty runs. If I need the pick up I pop caffeine pills. Sometimes I have coffee with enough cream and sugar I can gag it down.I had an overdose of caffeine at a very bad time once, I went over 36 hours without sleep and an ER trip, I had a really erratic heartbeat not to mention it mimicked a panic attack. Lesson learned.I tend to avoid anything with ingredients I cannot pronounce, and I have a big vocabulary. As close to the way it comes from nature is my motto, consume less from factories. I think it is healthier and saves a crap ton of money.

Does not surprise me I have never used them prefer a cup of tea to be honest.

My attitude is that stimulants are like borrowing from your future. The mild ones will just make you need sleep more after a while. The heavy ones will debilitate you. The way I look at it, my future is getting shorter enough all on it's own; no need to hasten the process!

Who drinks this shit!

Have tried very few in the distance past ,really did nothing for me and with all the negative publicity have never bought any in decades

I’ve little experience with energy drinks ... but you had me at “soda pop”

I’ve not noticed the ..heart failure crowd sucking down energy drinks, mainly ‘our youth.’ I wonder how it affects youngsters? Negatively, I’m sure

...thanks for the relevant details and warning ~

I tasted someone else's red bull, once, sometime in the mid-80s.
I've never had an "energy" drink, other than coffee.
Never will, either.
That stuff is just awful. That it's bad for you isn't remotely surprising.

I only drank an energy drink once. It was to buck me up to take another ski run. What happened:

In the ski area every sign was blue: the international sign for an intermediate run. Since my goggles were fogged up, I kept going and WHAM!

Fell down a triple-black-diamond run for ski experts with a death wish. I was toast. To get off that horrible steep run, I went sideways out-of-bounds. Dragging orange tape, I staggered into the lodge traumatized.

Also, the only one I ever had tasted just awful, which was reason enough for me never again to waste $4.99 on 2.5 ounces of unidentified ooze in a tiny bottle. (I never tried the bigger ones, but they're an even bigger waste.)

Thanks for the scientific backing for my instinctive prejudice!

Dangerous stuff

I know a lot of kids drink these during exams, or just keeping up with their late nights. Sadly, a lot of them don't know they have an underlying health problem until they start drinking them.

Basically speed in a can. If you eat a crummy diet, don't exercise, and your sleep is poor you need these. Yet another sad commentary on sick Amerika.