Shaka in Sancti Spíritus: Poisonings decrease, but the risk remains

A young woman arrived at the Camilo Cienfuegos Provincial Hospital in a coma. She required mechanical ventilation and spent hours in the intensive care unit. She had consumed Shaka, a beverage that combines alcohol with stimulants.

Her case was the most severe in a series of intoxications that, during August, sent several young people to health services in Sancti Spíritus and drew scrutiny to a product whose consumption was beginning to worry families and specialists alike.

Weeks later, the situation changed.

The last episode reported at the province’s health facilities occurred in late August: between four and five young people arrived at health services showing symptoms of mild to moderate alcohol intoxication. None presented a severe condition; they remained under medical observation for four or five hours before returning to their communities.

Then September began, and throughout the entire month, no new cases of intoxication specifically linked to Shaka consumption were recorded in Sancti Spíritus hospitals.

This figure is significant, coming after a period when several consumers required medical attention—with one reaching a critical state. Yet, it also raises an inevitable question: what does a month without new cases really mean?

A CHANGE WORTH NOTING

Yaneisy Valdés Gutiérrez, a specialist in Comprehensive General Medicine and Toxicology at the Camilo Cienfuegos Provincial Hospital, treated some of the patients described in the initial investigation and has closely monitored the pattern of these episodes.

As she explains, people continued to arrive at emergency departments throughout the previous month suffering from alcohol-related intoxication. What changed was the presence of cases specifically linked to “Shaka.” “September was a very quiet month,” the specialist notes.

Fewer cases requiring medical attention mean fewer young people exposed to conditions that could compromise their health—and, in extreme cases, their lives. It also eases the strain on the emergency services responsible for handling these situations.

However, September represents just one data point in a monitoring process that must continue over the coming months. Only future developments will determine whether this is a sustained shift or merely a pause in the phenomenon’s progression.

FEWER CASES OF INTOXICATION DO NOT MEAN LOWER CONSUMPTION

Statistics track cases that reach healthcare facilities because they present symptoms or complications requiring attention. However, they do not reveal how many people continue to consume Shaka without developing a condition that forces them to seek hospital care.

Therefore, the absence of new cases of intoxication during September cannot automatically be interpreted as a drop in consumption. Nor does it allow us to determine how many young people stopped drinking it, how many cut back, or how many continued consuming it without experiencing immediate consequences.

What the records do show is that the most severe and visible manifestation of the phenomenon—intoxicated consumers arriving at health services—did not occur during that month, and this distinction is crucial.

Two people can consume a similar amount and experience different consequences. Factors such as the quantity consumed, the speed of ingestion, individual characteristics, and other elements that determine the body’s response all play a role.

THE DANGER REMAINS

A drop in the number of cases does not mean the drink’s characteristics have changed.

Shaka combines alcohol with stimulants such as caffeine and taurine. While caffeine stimulates the nervous system, alcohol acts as a depressant.

This mixture can create a misleading perception of the consumer’s state. A person may feel more alert or active due to the stimulants, even as the alcohol continues to affect their body. This sensation can lead them to underestimate their level of intoxication and continue drinking.

There is another factor as well: the ingredients in these drinks can mask the taste of alcohol, making it easier to consume large quantities without accurately gauging how much has been ingested.

The risk is particularly high when a large amount is consumed in a short period.

Therefore, while the fact that hospitals saw no new cases specifically linked to Shaka in September is positive news from a public health perspective, it does not in itself alter the drink’s potential for harm.

The danger persists wherever consumption occurs at levels capable of causing intoxication.