Kayla McGregor/Staff Writer
Four Loko, a popular alcoholic beverage amongst college students and young people all over, is now banned in the United States. The “Four” in its name comes from the drink’s four main ingredients: caffeine, alcohol, Guarana, and Taurine.
Its nickname, “black out in a can,” although taken as a joke, is a warning about the dangerous mix. Four Loko and other caffeinated alcoholic beverages should remain banned and every last one should be ripped from the shelves. Products like it put our youth in grave danger, promote binge drinking and, in some cases, lead to death.
The effects of Four Loko can be deadly. One 16-ounce can of Four Loko contains as much alcohol as three cans of beer and as much caffeine as three cups of coffee, according to usaliveheadlines.com. This dangerous mix is the root of the drink’s prohibition.
According to CNN.com, the caffeine in the beverage masks the effects of the alcohol, leaving drinkers unaware of how intoxicated they are. Combining large amounts of caffeine and alcohol produces “a wide-awake drunk,” said Dr. Mary Claire O’Brien, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest University’s medical school in North Carolina. But, since caffeine’s effect wears off faster than alcohol’s, she said, drinkers are left with “much more alcohol than [he or she] would have been able to tolerate — and that leads to blackouts.” Also, drinking Four Loko can pose a higher risk of alcohol poisoning because people cannot sense they are past their limit until it is too late.
According to CNN.com, controversy over the drink exploded in October, when nine underage students at Central Washington University were hospitalized after drinking Four Loko, both on its own and mixed with other drinks. Students at the party had blood alcohol levels that ranged from 0.12 percent to 0.35 percent after consuming cans of the drink, and other students mixed the drink with additional alcohol. The legal limit is .08 percent.
The beverage comes in eight flavors and is marketed to young people, mainly college students. It is an abomination that it is marketed as an energy drink when alcohol is a depressant. Sure, the caffeine provides consumers with an initial boost, but when that boost wears off one feels the effects of consuming large amounts of alcohol, and it feels as though one was hit by a tidal wave.
The FDA has halted the production of caffeinated alcoholic beverages until companies can prove that the mix poses no health risks.
Phusion Projects of Chicago, the company that makes Four Loko, has agreed to drop caffeine and two of the other main ingredients from their drink due to stricter regulation.
However, that doesn’t mean the cans that remain on the shelves aren’t fair game. Every can should be pulled from every shelf so that Four Lokos can no longer cause harm to anyone.
I don’t understand why a company would create a beverage as dangerous as Four Loko and not expect serious problems to arise. I am glad the production of such drinks has been halted and it should remain that way until companies decide to remove the caffeine so that it may be declared safe for public consumption.
Ive always advocated responsible drinking over broad bans on drinks. I drink four lokos about once a month. Ive yet to have any adverse health effects. This is because I drink in a responsible way, know how much alcohol is in the drink, and know my limits.
Jager bombs are similar in the feeling they give you. Irish creme and coffee would be comparable. To remain consistent with your harm principal logic you would have to ban these as well. For some reason I dont see a rush to do this.
Call me a crazy leftist but I dont see how it is the state’s business if I enjoy a tasty caffeinated alcoholic beverage.