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Today's Poll!Police issue warning on energy drink
‘Four Loko’ a potential health hazard
Alcoholic energy drinks “Four Loko,” left, and “Joose,” right, are shown at a press conference in the state of Washington. Local authorities say these drinks are being used at parties because it can get you drunk faster. Photo by The Associated Press.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
It’s already banned in some states, and law enforcement officials in the area are now warning the public that energy drinks containing alcohol and caffeine are a potential a health hazard.
In addition, the affects after drinking them could lead to young people being taken advantage of.
The energy drink marketed by the name of Four Loko is legal in Missouri and can be found in local grocery and convenience stores. However, these drinks have been banned in Michigan, Washington, Oklahoma, Utah and as of Monday, New York, with other states weighing potential bans of their own.
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Comments
gofish 2 years, 6 months ago
The reason people get drunk faster has absolutely NOTHING to do with the mix of alcohol plus caffeine. The issue is total alcohol content. These are about 10-12% alcohol, double what a normal beer is. Thus, for every 12 oz of four loco that you drink, you have consumed 2 beers. It's no different than if you consumed 12 oz of wine which is typically 12-20% alcohol. As usual, misinformation is dessiminated that creates unnecessary public panic.
So if the rationale is that this should be banned because you get drunk faster, then so should we ban wine and hard liquor of any type b/c 'some' young people may not be smart enough to read the label, and 'might' be taken advantage of. I assume they are talking about ADULTS over the age of 21. Jagermeister is mixed with Red Bull (caffeine) in bars everyday. Does that mean the government should regulate what drinks should be mixed in a bar?
Hopefully, our lawmakers aren't so misguided as to be follow the missteps of other states and waste time and money to ban a perfectly legal drink. I am SO SICK of government intrusion into my life over things that ought to be typical ADULT choices. Note to Missouri Legislators. People over the age of 18 are adults, stop treating us like children!
nunyabidness 2 years, 6 months ago
Gofish, part of the uproar IS about the mix of caffeine and alcohol. The contention is that the caffeine prevents the imbibers from pa ss ing out, which causes them to drink more, resulting in more alcohol poisoning. I agree though that this shouldn't be banned. Alcoholic beverages are legal, caffeinated beverages are legal, but caffeinated alcoholic beverages aren't? I don't get it. Also you raised a good issue with the drinks at the bar...how do they intend to enforce this?
gofish 2 years, 6 months ago
As demonstrated by the two college students in Columbia that fell off balconies while drunk. There's no law that can instill common sense, nor enough resources to enforce the law against underage drinking.
Guess what? If you drink too much alcohol, you get sick. If you drink even more, you can die. People are responsible for their own actions. If you don't know what you're drinking...read the label.
BTW, ever heard of anyone dying from smoking too much pot?
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