Every time 13-year-old Naomi Haynes took a hit of her favourite drug she received "a buzz that lasted at least an hour". "I felt happy and hyper," she says. "Then after a while it would wear off and I would get jittery and crave more." At her peak, Naomi was having 50 hits a week - and hiding the evidence from her parents in plastic bags under her bed.

Then last November, Naomi got her wake-up call. She collapsed and ended up in hospital with heart palpitations. Naomi had not been taking an illegal substance. Instead, she was hooked on caffeinelaced energy drinks, which cost as little as 35p a can.

The drinks' claims to "give you wings" and "unleash the beast" have turned sales of brands like Red Bull, Relentless and Monster Energy into a £1billion-ayear industry. And without realising it, Naomi was among a growing number of children - some as young as eight - overdosing on them. Although the makers claim the products aren't aimed at kids, there's no age restriction on who buys them - and little warning of the side-effects.

Naomi, from Cowes, Isle of Wight, said: "The drinks were so cheap I could easily afford them with my pocket money. "I used to have a can before school and in break-time, too - until I was drinking seven a day. They made me jumpy but I couldn't stop. "At home, I would slam doors and lose my temper. I couldn't even sleep because I'd drink them until bedtime."

On the evening she collapsed, Naomi had drunk nine cans, thinking they would give her energy while she took part in a gruelling sea cadets course. "Then while I was on parade, I suddenly had stabbing pains in my chest and could feel my heart beating fast then slow.

"I woke up at 2.30 the next morning in hospital and all I to could think was: 'Wait a minute - my dad's the one who's supposed to be getting heart attacks, not me.' " Four months later, Naomi has been forced to have counselling and learn relaxation techniques to beat her addiction. It's only now she can see the damage she did to herself.

Naomi's father, Matthew, 41, says: "Every time I saw Naomi with her friends, she had a can in her hand. I warned her what all that caffeine would do to her heart but she thought that I was just being a spoil-sport. I even asked the local shopkeepers not to sell her the drinks but I still found empty cans hidden round the house."

There are no recommended guidelines on how much caffeine children should be allowed to drink. However, Professor Roland Griffiths, of Johns Hopkins University, who has investigated the drinks, discovered just 100mg of caffeine a day was enough to lead to dependence in adults, let alone children.

Popular brands like Red Bull contain around 80mg of caffeine for a slim-line 250ml can while Red Rooster has 150mg and Relentless 160mg for regular-sized cans.

His calls for clearer labelling on the drinks is being backed by Henry Mulenga, a paediatric consultant at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals.

"On the label these drinks seem to contain reasonable caffeine levels but they can't be compared to coffee - caffeine in soft drinks is absorbed much quicker," he warns. "If you mix them with medicines containing ephedrine and prolonged exercise, it can be a toxic - and fatal - combination."

TV dietitian Nigel Denby, of healthy eating website www.grub4life.org.uk, believes the UK should follow the lead of Iceland and Norway and ban sale of the drinks to under-16s.

"These drinks should be treated the same way as alcohol, cigarettes and glue," he says. "They are much more than just a can of fizzy pop."

Source: Daily Mirror

Pic: Mateusz Stachowski