A new alcoholic energy beverage, Four Loko, is under scrutiny recently by the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the public, due to recent hospital visits by Central Washington University students after drinking the hard beverage.
Last November, the FDA warned manufacturers about the dangers of Four Loko. The amount of alcohol in one can of Four Loko is equivalent to 5 to 6 beers.
“The increasing popularity of consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages by college students and reports of potential health and safety issues necessitates that we look seriously at the scientific evidence as soon as possible,” Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of food and drugs, said in a statement.
On the night of October 8, Washington State students were found passed out after consuming the drink and rushed to the hospital. Officials first believed the students had been slipped Rufilin, also know as the date rape drug, without their knowledge. However, none of them had any traces of the drug in their system. The nine students had blood alcohol levels ranging from .123 to .35; a concentration at .30 is considered lethal.
Adrienne Casanova, nurse, thinks kids mix energy drinks with alcohol because it today’s society, drinking is about showing how much the body can tolerate.
“Today, it’s not about just going out, having a few beers, and getting drunk, it’s about excess, and drinking to the point where you can’t stand up, which is why these kids are getting rushed to the hospital from alcohol poisoning,” Casanova said.
Officials from Central Washington also said that when caffeine is mixed with alcohol. The caffeine stimulates the body and makes the user feel more alert, making them think they can drink more, which could eventually lead to astronomical blood alcohol levels, and possibly even death.
“Energy drinks are loaded with sugar, which stimulates the body for a short period of time. When you mix it with alcohol, you’ve dampened the ability to realize what is actually happening to you,” Casanova said.
Younger people also drink these drinks because they are supposed to taste more like juice, or a can of soda, instead of alcohol.
“They’re marketed to kids by using fruit flavors that mask the taste of alcohol, and they have such high levels of stimulants that people have no idea how inebriated they really are,” Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna said in an October Chicago Tribune article.
The 23.5 ounce cans of Four Loko have been banned on all campus areas at Central Washington, even for students over the age of 21.
“It’s time to bring an end to the sale of alcoholic energy drinks,” McKenna said. “They’re packaged just like non-alcoholic drinks, but include a dangerous dose of malt liquor.”