Possibility of Cardiac Arrest from 75 Red Bulls and 42 Monsters: Caffeine Poisoning Leading to Emergency Transport and Deaths in Japan

Posted on June 13, 2017 | Last updated February 11, 2025

75 cans of Red Bull and 42 cans of Monster lead to the possibility of cardiac arrest. Emergency transport and death cases due to caffeine poisoning in Japan
Asahi Shimbun Digital article reports on a striking article about the statistics of cardiac arrest, death, and emergency transport due to caffeine poisoning, so I thought I would leave an article about actual caffeine poisoning incidents that occurred in Japan.

Author information Author: Energy Drink-kun

In 2001, while living in the United States, I encountered energy drinks through the dance scene and was deeply impressed. After returning to Japan, I found that energy drinks were considered novelty beverages, so I established a comprehensive website in 2013 to share the true appeal of energy drinks. As an energy drink enthusiast, I began drinking them seriously again, collecting over 7,000 varieties of energy drinks from various countries. I am also active as a critic and expert, receiving media interviews.

Number of People Transported Due to Caffeine Poisoning Has Been Increasing Every Year

The data collected from 38 medical facilities indicates that the number of people transported due to caffeine poisoning has been increasing every year.

2011: 10 people
2012: 5 people
2013: 24 people
2014: 25 people
2015: 37 people

It is reported that 97 out of 101 people were using wakefulness-promoting drugs. The median age of the patients was 25 years old, and there were 16 people under the age of 18.

Only 4 People Were Poisoned by Energy Drinks

Out of the 101 cases, 7 people went into cardiac arrest, and surprisingly, 3 people died. It has been found that those who went into cardiac arrest had ingested 6g of caffeine.

Only 4 people were poisoned by energy drinks alone. However, it is unclear whether those who went into cardiac arrest or died did so solely from drinking energy drinks. Furthermore, as we will discuss later, it is practically impossible to consume 6g of caffeine from energy drinks alone.

Acute Symptoms Appear with 1g of Caffeine

Acute symptoms due to caffeine consumption are said to appear when an adult consumes 1g. However, this amount does not cause death by caffeine poisoning.

Let’s take a look at an interesting graph from Asahi Shimbun that shows how much caffeine from caffeine tablets or energy drinks would be needed to reach this 1g.

75 cans of Red Bull, 42 cans of Monster cause cardiac arrest. Caffeine poisoning emergency transport cases in Japan
From Asahi Shimbun Digital

It is widely known that coffee contains more caffeine than Red Bull. However, for some reason, energy drinks are often mistakenly thought to contain large amounts of caffeine.

Cardiac Arrest After Consuming 6g of Caffeine

75 cans of Red Bull, 42 cans of Monster cause cardiac arrest. Caffeine poisoning emergency transport and death cases in Japan
What was surprising in the Asahi Shimbun article was that the person who went into cardiac arrest had consumed more than 6g of caffeine. This is a level of caffeine that cannot be easily consumed through energy drinks or coffee, and it is likely that caffeine tablets were consumed in large quantities.

To ingest the 6g (6,000mg) of caffeine that caused cardiac arrest in this case, you would need to consume:

Red Bull 250ml... 75 cans (80mg per can)
Monster 355ml... 42 cans (142mg per can)
Tomelmin... 36 tablets (167mg per tablet)
Estalon Mocha Tablets... 60 tablets (100mg per tablet)

This is the amount needed to reach 6g. Consuming 6g of caffeine from energy drinks alone is extremely difficult. I have also listed caffeine tablets here. You would need to consume 36–60 tablets... This is clearly an excessive amount that cannot be casually consumed as a wakefulness aid. It’s reasonable to think that the person intentionally took large amounts. Even half of 6g (3g of caffeine) would still be an excessive and dangerous amount, which is nearly impossible to reach through energy drinks alone.

Caffeine Tablets Are Truly Dangerous

・Nagano Prefecture: Three people in their 20s–30s were transported due to self-poisoning (2014)
・Hyogo Prefecture: A 50-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman died due to excessive use of sleep aids (year unknown, recent cases)

According to Asahi Shimbun, these were all accidents caused by the excessive intake of wakefulness-promoting drugs. I learned about this for the first time from this article. The first major death incident related to caffeine in Japan was widely covered in 2015 as a death caused by caffeine overdose, but there were many other accidents as well.

According to this Asahi Shimbun article, the Japanese Society of Toxicology started its investigation after this 2015 incident. That incident was reported on the news every day.

There May Have Been Previous Deaths Due to Caffeine

According to Professor Emeritus Motoharu Nishio from the Hyogo Medical University mentioned in the Asahi Shimbun article:

Caffeine poisoning deaths may not show abnormalities in the organs, so blood tests are needed to detect it. There may have been unexplained deaths from previous autopsies that were actually caused by caffeine poisoning.

Recently, due to the increasing popularity of energy drinks, there have been many sensationalized articles warning about the dangers of caffeine poisoning, which has raised public awareness. As a result, the Japanese Society of Toxicology has started investigations. However, it is believed that even before the popularity of energy drinks, there may have been caffeine overdose deaths caused by the excessive intake of caffeine tablets.

Energy Drinks May Be Contributing to the Increase in Caffeine Poisoning Cases

75 cans of Red Bull, 42 cans of Monster cause cardiac arrest. Caffeine poisoning emergency transport and death cases in Japan
Dr. Toshihiko Matsumoto, Director of the Drug Dependence Research Department at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, stated:

Energy drinks expose people to the effects of caffeine, and they may then seek even stronger effects by turning to wakefulness-promoting drugs.

While I don’t think energy drinks alone are the main cause of the increase in caffeine poisoning cases, I do think this is a valid point.

In reality, domestic energy drinks such as Mega Shaki, Men Men Dah, and Kyo Kyo Dah, which have existed even before the rise of energy drinks, also contributed to the feeling of caffeine’s wakefulness effects. However, the emergence of energy drinks provided a casual way to experience the effects of caffeine, which likely amplified their influence.

I believe that not only severe caffeine poisoning, but also light acute caffeine poisoning incidents will continue to increase with the rise of energy drinks. Therefore, those who frequently drink energy drinks should be careful.

Factors such as age, physical condition, body weight, overall health, and the intake of other caffeine-containing foods contribute to caffeine poisoning, so it's important not to casually assume that drinking two or three energy drinks is safe.