CADCA and Coalitions Call for
Four Loko Alcoholic Energy Drink Ban
The Associated Press this week reported that there are new concerns about energy drinks produced by a Chicago-based company that combine high levels of caffeine with alcohol. The Food and Drug Administration began investigating these types of beverages a year ago, but a recent Washington state college party is renewing questions about their safety.
Earlier this month, nine students from Central Washington University ended up in the hospital after getting sick at an off-campus party. Police initially thought they had overdosed on drugs, but now, investigators blame their condition on a drink called “Four Loko.”
Four Loko is made by Chicago-based Phusion Projects and is referred to as “blackout in a can” by some college students. It has an alcohol content of 12 percent, which is comparable to four beers.
The makers of Four Loko said people have been mixing caffeine and alcohol for years. A statement on their website says: “Our products contain less alcohol than an average rum and cola, less alcohol and caffeine than an average Red Bull and vodka, and are comparable to having coffee after a meal with a couple glasses of wine.”
Several states are considering outlawing the drinks and at least two universities have banned them from campus while the FDA reviews their safety.
“People consuming these drinks don’t understand how much alcohol they are drinking,” said CADCA’s Chairman and CEO Arthur T. Dean, of the inexpensive drinks. “The drinks present a serious threat to public health and safety, especially for our youth.”
All alcoholic energy drinks were banned from CWU’s campus Monday, following the president of New Jersey’s Ramapo College, who banned the drinks last month after attributing several students’ hospitalizations to Four Loko.
Steven Schmidt, a spokesman for the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, told the AP many states feel they need to act quickly to ban the drinks because the drinks are increasing in popularity.
CADCA has drafted a template letter for coalitions to send directly to the company that makes Four Loko telling them we want them to remove this irresponsible and dangerous product. Another template letter could be disseminated to the FDA .
Source: cadca.org