Some say that if you mess with Red Bull, you should watch out for the horns — which appears to be the jolt- and- crash effect that comes in every can.

Personally, I think the real problem is that the stuff tastes like really bad cough syrup. Which makes it hard for me to fathom why billions of seriously wired teens are drinking so much Red Bull and other energy drinks that it's being called caffeine abuse.

The Associated Press reports an increase in caffeine overdose cases, based on the number of calls to poison control centers from kids. (Although, it looks like those who were actually admitted to the hospital also took other drugs.)

Given the hype, I figured that each energy drink contained enough caffeine to power a small city. But it turns out that one can of Red Bull has 80 milligrams of caffeine, or roughly the same as an average cup of coffee. A moderate daily amount is about 300-400 milligrams. As a comparison, there are 372 mgs in a 16 oz. cup of Starbucks coffee. (I just realized that I abuse caffeine before 9 a.m. every single day.)

Apart from the caffeine, energy drinks are basically just sugar, spiked with mysterious additives like taurine and glucuronolactone.

There are already tons of rumors out there about Red Bull — none of which seem to cause serious concern. In fact, I'm not sure that I'm concerned either. After all, what exactly qualifies as caffeine overdose?

Don't millions of my fellow Starbucks addicts (including me) OD on caffeine when we order an extra shot of espresso and then find ourselves speaking very, very quickly? Haven't I ODed when I have a latte at night, then can't get to sleep?

Or maybe we can use an over-consumption of caffeine to explain base jumping and other extreme sports that are associated with energy drinks.

I probably haven't grasped the seriousness of this issue. But if moderation is called for, at least the seriously foul taste of these drinks is keeping some of us off the juice.