A new study conducted by a team of scientist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., found that most energy drinks may cause several health damages, as the caffeine level is so much higher than a regular coffee. Apparently labels do not show the consumers the exact amount of caffeine, which in higher doses may lead to intoxication.

Roland Griffiths, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience and senior author of the new report on beverages highlights the cases of nine patients who had an energy drink called Redline, which contains 250 mg caffeine. The youngest of the consumers was only 13 and their symptoms ranged from nausea and vomiting to tremors, chest pain and a racing pulse.

According to the National Institutes of Health, other risks of caffeine poisoning are rapid heart rate, restlessness, anxiety, depression and difficulty sleeping.

The researchers have found that some energy drinks have the same caffeine found in 14 cans of Coke or seven times the caffeine level of a strong coffeehouse coffee. The average 12-ounce cola has 35 milligrams of caffeine. A 6-ounce coffee contains 80 to 150 milligrams, while energy drinks can have between 50 and 500 milligrams.

This makes the fact that more and more young people have developed the habit of drinking energy boosters even more concerning. Dr. Steven Lamm, an internist at New York University says, as quoted by CBS4: "At the higher level, caffeine is a drug. It's a stimulant. It's an alerting agent, but it can also induce sweating and hypertension and rapid heart rate.”

Energy drinks do not require warning labels, as do other over-the-counter caffeine-containing products, like cola or coffee, which leads to greater worries, as the energy drink market has boomed with the arrival of “Red Bull,” in 1997, and now ads up to a total of at least $5.4 billion a year in the U.S. only.

The battle between doctors and the producers of the popular beverages continues, as spokespeople for the industry claim the caffeine rates are “not that high” and doctors are worried that extensive usage may lead to a more serious drug abuse.