According to U.S. Energy Drink statistics and facts, energy drinks and shots’ sales amounted to $8.1 billion in 2011. Since the market growth is very high, sales are projected to increase to over 13 billion by 2015.

The most popular energy drink at West High is Red Bull. Summer Jarvis-Mensoff says, “I think Red Bulls are addictive because of all the sugar and caffeine. I sometimes drink around three Red Bulls, spending $12-$15 a day.”

Summer also said that she drinks Red Bull because it is better than coffee and it tastes like juice, but it isn’t healthy due to all the caffeine and calories. Her favorite drink is a “Bubba Kush” Red Bull smoothie.

She mainly buys them from a coffee shop up the street from West called Coffee Queen. “Coffee Queen is my favorite coffee shop because they have flavored whip cream and all different kinds of flavors. Not all coffee shops have that,” says Summer.

Stated from the National Library of Medicine, 51 percent of participants reported drinking greater than one energy drink per month.

Most of the students reported that they consume these drinks for insufficient sleep, to increase energy and to drink alcohol while partying.

The owner of Coffee Queen, Madison Hodl, says, “Red Bull is the most popular energy drink sold here, and is also the most expensive to stock up. We sell around three to four cases a day, around 20 cases per week.”

Most of the costumers that go there are regular customers and come almost every day. The age group that usually buys the energy drinks is high school and college students. Madison says she also loves Red Bull and drinks about one every day.

The West High Nurse, Jordis Clark, says she doesn’t recommend students to drink any kind of energy drink. “These drinks can mess up a student in many ways. Decisions, anxiety, headaches, cardiac arrest, shaking and the way kids learn are just some of the side effects.” she says.

Jordis also says that she thinks Red Bull or Monster is the most popular energy drink for high schoolers. These energy drinks contain tons of sugar and four times more caffeine than a can of soda. Due to all the ingredients, these drinks can be addictive. Many high school students drink these drinks because they don’t get enough sleep.

According to Jordis Clark, if you choose to drink Red Bull, don’t drink too much in a day. Energy drinks are not healthy for you and can cause a lot of horrible side effects. Some other side effects could be weight gain, insomnia, tooth decay, and osteoporosis. Also these drinks are very expensive, most drinks cost $4-$6, so by drinking less you will be more healthy and save more money.