This is so FUCKING ridiculous. God Bless America.
by TERESA YUAN and KING 5 News
KING5.com
OLYMPIA, Wash.-- The Washington State Liquor Control Board voted to ban the sale of alcoholic energy drinks.
The ban goes into effect on Nov. 18.
"The Liquor Control Board has a duty to protect the safety of the people of Washington state," Gov. Chris Gregoire said at a press conference. "It has fulfilled that duty by banning these drinks."
"We're taking action to keep these drinks out of young peoples' hands and keep young people out of our emergency rooms," she said.
The vote this morning comes after nine underage students at Central Washington University became dangerously ill after consuming a caffeinated malt beverage called Four Loko at a party in Roslyn on Oct. 8. Nine students went to the hospital and one ended up in the intensive care unit.
The blood alcohol levels of the students who were hospitalized ranged from 0.123 to 0.35. A blood alcohol content of 0.3 and above is considered potentially fatal.
CWU President James Guadino said at the press conference that the students say they don't know how many of alcoholic energy drinks they consumed.
"When I talk to students they will swear that they drank one of these and that's all they remember after that point and they ended up in the hospital on respirators," said CWU President, James Guadino.
A typical alcohol energy drink has almost 3-4 times the amount of alcohol you'd find in a can of beer and the caffeine amounts to four cups of coffee. One Four Loko, which contains 12 percent alcohol, is equivalent to four to five beers and several shots of espresso. The drink is commonly known as “blackout in a can" and is one of the most popular alcoholic energy drinks on the market.
Some stores, such as Haggen and Top Food and Drug stores, already pulled the drinks from their shelves in Washington and Oregon.
The company that makes Four Loko issued the following statement:
We're disappointed by recent calls to ban our products. While we don't agree that caffeine and alcohol are unsafe, we do appreciate any state's concern for its citizens. We want to open a dialogue to discuss specific concerns and try to reach solutions.
No one is more upset than we are when our products are abused or used illegally, and we do everything in our power to prevent the sale of our products to anyone under the age of 21 and to educate consumers about how to enjoy them responsibly. When consumed responsibly, our products are just as safe as any other alcoholic beverage.
This conclusion was recently affirmed by way of a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) notification for our products we had prepared in response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's request for information about the safety of adding caffeine to alcohol. An independent panel of scientific and food safety experts unanimously concluded that adding caffeine to alcohol is safe. The FDA's scientists are currently evaluating the data and information we provided and are assessing whether any further regulation of caffeinated alcoholic beverages is necessary. Of course, we will share the results of this evaluation with all interested parties, once they are available, which we anticipate will occur in the coming months.
People have safely mixed and consumed alcohol and caffeine products for years; having coffee after a meal with wine, or consuming rum and cola, an Irish coffee, or a Red Bull and vodka are all popular practices. Four Loko has roughly the same alcohol content as some craft beers, wine, and far less alcohol by volume than hard liquor. A can of one of our products, Four Loko, has roughly the same amount of caffeine as a tall Starbucks coffee.
We are proud of the work we do to ensure our products are safe and used properly and only by adults of legal drinking age. However, curbing alcohol abuse will not be accomplished by singling out a lone product or beverage category. We are committed to working with all interested parties to address our shared concerns and to answer questions regarding the safety of the products.
http://www.king5.com/news/Vote-may-ban-alcoholic-energy-drinks-107008128.html
by TERESA YUAN and KING 5 News
KING5.com
OLYMPIA, Wash.-- The Washington State Liquor Control Board voted to ban the sale of alcoholic energy drinks.
The ban goes into effect on Nov. 18.
"The Liquor Control Board has a duty to protect the safety of the people of Washington state," Gov. Chris Gregoire said at a press conference. "It has fulfilled that duty by banning these drinks."
"We're taking action to keep these drinks out of young peoples' hands and keep young people out of our emergency rooms," she said.
The vote this morning comes after nine underage students at Central Washington University became dangerously ill after consuming a caffeinated malt beverage called Four Loko at a party in Roslyn on Oct. 8. Nine students went to the hospital and one ended up in the intensive care unit.
The blood alcohol levels of the students who were hospitalized ranged from 0.123 to 0.35. A blood alcohol content of 0.3 and above is considered potentially fatal.
CWU President James Guadino said at the press conference that the students say they don't know how many of alcoholic energy drinks they consumed.
"When I talk to students they will swear that they drank one of these and that's all they remember after that point and they ended up in the hospital on respirators," said CWU President, James Guadino.
A typical alcohol energy drink has almost 3-4 times the amount of alcohol you'd find in a can of beer and the caffeine amounts to four cups of coffee. One Four Loko, which contains 12 percent alcohol, is equivalent to four to five beers and several shots of espresso. The drink is commonly known as “blackout in a can" and is one of the most popular alcoholic energy drinks on the market.
Some stores, such as Haggen and Top Food and Drug stores, already pulled the drinks from their shelves in Washington and Oregon.
The company that makes Four Loko issued the following statement:
We're disappointed by recent calls to ban our products. While we don't agree that caffeine and alcohol are unsafe, we do appreciate any state's concern for its citizens. We want to open a dialogue to discuss specific concerns and try to reach solutions.
No one is more upset than we are when our products are abused or used illegally, and we do everything in our power to prevent the sale of our products to anyone under the age of 21 and to educate consumers about how to enjoy them responsibly. When consumed responsibly, our products are just as safe as any other alcoholic beverage.
This conclusion was recently affirmed by way of a GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) notification for our products we had prepared in response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's request for information about the safety of adding caffeine to alcohol. An independent panel of scientific and food safety experts unanimously concluded that adding caffeine to alcohol is safe. The FDA's scientists are currently evaluating the data and information we provided and are assessing whether any further regulation of caffeinated alcoholic beverages is necessary. Of course, we will share the results of this evaluation with all interested parties, once they are available, which we anticipate will occur in the coming months.
People have safely mixed and consumed alcohol and caffeine products for years; having coffee after a meal with wine, or consuming rum and cola, an Irish coffee, or a Red Bull and vodka are all popular practices. Four Loko has roughly the same alcohol content as some craft beers, wine, and far less alcohol by volume than hard liquor. A can of one of our products, Four Loko, has roughly the same amount of caffeine as a tall Starbucks coffee.
We are proud of the work we do to ensure our products are safe and used properly and only by adults of legal drinking age. However, curbing alcohol abuse will not be accomplished by singling out a lone product or beverage category. We are committed to working with all interested parties to address our shared concerns and to answer questions regarding the safety of the products.
http://www.king5.com/news/Vote-may-ban-alcoholic-energy-drinks-107008128.html
