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Psychiatrist: Energy drinks and high-potency nicotine carry clear risks for adolescents
Summary
At a District 204 symposium, addiction psychiatrist Kevin Masterson described how nicotine and high-caffeine energy drinks affect adolescent brains, reviewed product potency and safety guidance, and urged nonjudgmental, frequent conversations and medical referrals for students using these substances.
At a symposium hosted in Indian Prairie CUSD 204, Dr. Kevin Masterson, associate medical director of Linden Oaks Hospital Addiction Services at Endeavor Health, told educators and parents that “addiction is a chronic and progressive brain disease” and that both nicotine and high‑caffeine energy drinks can pose health risks for adolescents.
Masterson said addictive substances amplify motivation circuits in the brain, creating automatic habit routines that can erode other areas of life such as school, work and relationships. He described nicotine and caffeine as stimulants and detailed common effects, withdrawal symptoms and relative potencies of available products.
Why this matters: Masterson warned that several widely available nicotine products and some energy drinks deliver nicotine or caffeine at levels that can cause insomnia, anxiety, elevated heart rate and, in rare cases at very high…
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