Party pill-maker peddles kicks in cans

The new drink, Ammo, is sold in liquor stores alongside Red Bull and other non-alcoholic drinks. Photo / Janna Dixon

A party pill manufacturer has joined the energy drink market - with a product claimed to be the "world's strongest".

The company, London Underground, is better known for legal highs such as Crave, Summer Daze and XXX, which mimic recreational drugs but are bizarrely marketed as "shoe deodoriser" and "plant foods" on its website.

The new drink, Ammo, is sold in liquor stores alongside Red Bull and other non-alcoholic drinks.

The original Ammo disappeared from shelves several years ago amid concern it contained benzylpiperazine (BZP), a now-illegal stimulant formerly used in party pills. The latest recipe contains 20 minerals, vitamins and amino acids and has 80mg of caffeine and 29.2g of sugar.

Some ingredients, such as citrus aurantium extract and maca, were stimulants common in body-building supplements and weight-loss pills, said Associate Professor Owen Young from AUT University's food science research centre.

"These things are supposed to be good for body building but the evidence is pretty flimsy," Young said.

University of Auckland food scientist Professor Laurie Melton said it was "slightly alarming" the product had a warning to only consume one a day. "Mind you, that could be an advertising gimmick. Some people would find that attractive," Melton said.

The London Underground director did not return calls.

BLOOD PRESSURE BOOSTER

It's fluorescent pink and the flavour is hard to place: A little bitter, intensely sweet and followed with a sour kick.

Ten minutes after getting through a can of Ammo, my lips are stained pink, my face is hot and my heart rate has soared by 12 beats a minute - an increase of about 20 per cent. My blood pressure has had a kick, too, going from a low 114/53 to well within healthy limits at 115/81.

Half an hour later my heart rate is still up at 69 beats a minute. I'm bouncing around but not getting a lot done.

Two hours after downing the drink, I've got no energy and can feel a headache creeping up. I think I'll stick with coffee.