you ever drank FOUR LOKO ?
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http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7726438&ref=nf
(video on link)
MAHWAH, N.J. (WABC) -- It looks like so many other energy drinks on the market today, but Four Loko packs a much bigger, even dangerous punch.
"Our students tell me it's like drinking 4 beers, a can of red bull and a large espresso," Ramapo College President Peter Mercer said.
It's 23 and a half ounces, 12 percent alcohol, infused with caffeine and taurine among other things.
Mercer says Four Loco is just one of the reasons he's had to rush more than 20 students to the hospital so far this year.
"It's intoxication at a fairly high level, one which potentially compromises the health of the student," he said.
It's not all Four Loko's fault. That's why Mercer has beefed up the school's alcohol policy and all of the penalties.
He did flat out ban anyone from having Four Loko on campus.
"It isn't good. It's gonna kill all the fun here," Omar Alkhalili said.
Alkhalili is a junior here. He's had the drink and knows what it can do.
He says ban Four Loko and you have another problem.
"I feel like people will hide it more. Maybe they won't be as inclined to tell people their friends are sick, which could be a bad thing," he said.
Brianna Canetti has tried the drink too, but doesn't drink it anymore. She knows how bad it can be.
"I honestly think it might work with the amount of transports we've had to the hospital with kids on Four Loko. It might help. I understand that," she said.
But not everybody does. There is already a Facebook page for students against the alcohol policy. It is 16-hundred friends strong. That's about a sixth of the student population.
President Mercer says the new tougher policy is the right way to go. It has to be safety first at his school.
(Copyright ©2010 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Im drankin this shit right now, fiya!
(video on link)
MAHWAH, N.J. (WABC) -- It looks like so many other energy drinks on the market today, but Four Loko packs a much bigger, even dangerous punch.
"Our students tell me it's like drinking 4 beers, a can of red bull and a large espresso," Ramapo College President Peter Mercer said.
It's 23 and a half ounces, 12 percent alcohol, infused with caffeine and taurine among other things.
Mercer says Four Loco is just one of the reasons he's had to rush more than 20 students to the hospital so far this year.
"It's intoxication at a fairly high level, one which potentially compromises the health of the student," he said.
It's not all Four Loko's fault. That's why Mercer has beefed up the school's alcohol policy and all of the penalties.
He did flat out ban anyone from having Four Loko on campus.
"It isn't good. It's gonna kill all the fun here," Omar Alkhalili said.
Alkhalili is a junior here. He's had the drink and knows what it can do.
He says ban Four Loko and you have another problem.
"I feel like people will hide it more. Maybe they won't be as inclined to tell people their friends are sick, which could be a bad thing," he said.
Brianna Canetti has tried the drink too, but doesn't drink it anymore. She knows how bad it can be.
"I honestly think it might work with the amount of transports we've had to the hospital with kids on Four Loko. It might help. I understand that," she said.
But not everybody does. There is already a Facebook page for students against the alcohol policy. It is 16-hundred friends strong. That's about a sixth of the student population.
President Mercer says the new tougher policy is the right way to go. It has to be safety first at his school.
(Copyright ©2010 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Im drankin this shit right now, fiya!
W grocery chain pulls Four Loko drinks off shelves
Pressure on makers of caffeinated alcohol drinks is mounting as a Northwest grocery chain announced Tuesday it is pulling the products from its shelves, and a Tacoma legislator said she hopes to make another attempt to ban the beverages in the state. A spokesman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the agency is "working vigorously" to determine whether the drinks should remain on the market.
By Jack Broom
Seattle Times staff reporter
A can of Four Loko is displayed at a liquor store in Palo Alto, Calif. The drink contains caffeine and alcohol.
Pressure on makers of caffeinated alcohol drinks is mounting as a Northwest grocery chain announced Tuesday it is pulling the products from its shelves, and a Tacoma legislator said she hopes to make another attempt to ban the beverages in the state.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which last year threatened to ban the beverages unless producers prove their safety, said the agency is "working vigorously" to determine whether the drinks should remain on the market.
"Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a horrible incident for people to believe the evidence," said three-term Democratic Rep. Tami Green, referring to an Oct. 8 party in which nine Central Washington University students became ill — one critically — after consuming Four Loko, a popular caffeinated drink that is 12 percent alcohol.
On Monday, as findings were released linking Four Loko to the illnesses, Gov. Chris Gregoire and state Attorney General Rob McKenna each renewed their calls for a ban on alcoholic energy drinks.
On Tuesday, officials at Bellingham-based Haggen Inc., which operates Haggen Food & Pharmacy and TOP Food & Drug stores, said the chain was immediately removing Four Loko and a similar product, Joose, from its 32 stores in Washington and Oregon.
"After studying this issue for some time, we've seen consensus build among health experts and law-enforcement officials about the public-safety risk posed by people consuming beverages with caffeine and above-average alcohol content," said Becky Skaggs, director of consumer affairs for Haggen Inc.
Health experts say the caffeine in such drinks masks the effects of alcohol, allowing the drinker to continue drinking and engage in other dangerous activities.
But makers of the products say combining alcohol and caffeine is not new, and that cocktails such as Irish coffee, rum-and-cola and vodka-and-Red Bull all combine alcohol and a stimulant.
Chicago-based Phusion Projects, which makes Four Loko, said on its website Tuesday that its drink is being unfairly blamed for the CWU illnesses, noting that police reports from the party also mention drugs and other alcohol.
"No one is more upset than we are when our products are abused or consumed illegally by underage drinkers — and it appears that both happened in this instance. This is unacceptable," the company said.
"But so, too, is placing blame for the incident squarely on Four Loko when the police report, toxicology reports and witness testimony all show that other substances, including beer, hard liquors like vodka and rum, and possibly illicit substances, were consumed as well."
Police reports indicate officers were initially told some students may have been drugged at the party of about 50 students. But Cle Elum-Roslyn Police Chief Scott Ferguson said no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found at the scene.
The only illegal drug found in the blood of the stricken students was trace amounts of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, found in two of the victims, Ferguson said.
Police are continuing their investigation and are seeking to determine who provided the alcohol for the party of about 50 CWU freshman, most of whom are 18 or 19, Ferguson said.
Green, a three-term Democratic incumbent, is facing Republican Paul Wagemann in next week's general election. If re-elected, Green said, she'll try again to introduce a ban on alcoholic energy drinks, a move recommended by the state Liquor Control Board.
Green introduced a bill last session which passed in the House, but only after it was changed from proposing a ban to simply calling for detailed labeling listing the specific stimulants and their amounts.
"We had a lot of push-back from the major brewing companies," said Green, who said she would anticipate a lobbying campaign against a ban.
Last November, after hearing from a group of state attorneys general, including McKenna, the FDA notified producers of nearly 30 caffeinated alcoholic beverages that it was concerned about the safety and legality of their products.
"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, Deputy FDA commissioner, said at the time.
The agency asked the companies to produce evidence that adding caffeine to their products was safe. And it noted that two major brewers, Anheuser-Busch and Miller, had agreed to discontinue their caffeinated alcoholic beverages, Tilt and Bud Extra and Sparks, and not produce any similar drinks in the future.
FDA spokesman Michael Herndon on Tuesday said the agency's review of the products is still ongoing.
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LMAO at the PR.
Pressure on makers of caffeinated alcohol drinks is mounting as a Northwest grocery chain announced Tuesday it is pulling the products from its shelves, and a Tacoma legislator said she hopes to make another attempt to ban the beverages in the state. A spokesman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the agency is "working vigorously" to determine whether the drinks should remain on the market.
By Jack Broom
Seattle Times staff reporter
A can of Four Loko is displayed at a liquor store in Palo Alto, Calif. The drink contains caffeine and alcohol.
Pressure on makers of caffeinated alcohol drinks is mounting as a Northwest grocery chain announced Tuesday it is pulling the products from its shelves, and a Tacoma legislator said she hopes to make another attempt to ban the beverages in the state.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which last year threatened to ban the beverages unless producers prove their safety, said the agency is "working vigorously" to determine whether the drinks should remain on the market.
"Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a horrible incident for people to believe the evidence," said three-term Democratic Rep. Tami Green, referring to an Oct. 8 party in which nine Central Washington University students became ill — one critically — after consuming Four Loko, a popular caffeinated drink that is 12 percent alcohol.
On Monday, as findings were released linking Four Loko to the illnesses, Gov. Chris Gregoire and state Attorney General Rob McKenna each renewed their calls for a ban on alcoholic energy drinks.
On Tuesday, officials at Bellingham-based Haggen Inc., which operates Haggen Food & Pharmacy and TOP Food & Drug stores, said the chain was immediately removing Four Loko and a similar product, Joose, from its 32 stores in Washington and Oregon.
"After studying this issue for some time, we've seen consensus build among health experts and law-enforcement officials about the public-safety risk posed by people consuming beverages with caffeine and above-average alcohol content," said Becky Skaggs, director of consumer affairs for Haggen Inc.
Health experts say the caffeine in such drinks masks the effects of alcohol, allowing the drinker to continue drinking and engage in other dangerous activities.
But makers of the products say combining alcohol and caffeine is not new, and that cocktails such as Irish coffee, rum-and-cola and vodka-and-Red Bull all combine alcohol and a stimulant.
Chicago-based Phusion Projects, which makes Four Loko, said on its website Tuesday that its drink is being unfairly blamed for the CWU illnesses, noting that police reports from the party also mention drugs and other alcohol.
"No one is more upset than we are when our products are abused or consumed illegally by underage drinkers — and it appears that both happened in this instance. This is unacceptable," the company said.
"But so, too, is placing blame for the incident squarely on Four Loko when the police report, toxicology reports and witness testimony all show that other substances, including beer, hard liquors like vodka and rum, and possibly illicit substances, were consumed as well."
Police reports indicate officers were initially told some students may have been drugged at the party of about 50 students. But Cle Elum-Roslyn Police Chief Scott Ferguson said no drugs or drug paraphernalia were found at the scene.
The only illegal drug found in the blood of the stricken students was trace amounts of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, found in two of the victims, Ferguson said.
Police are continuing their investigation and are seeking to determine who provided the alcohol for the party of about 50 CWU freshman, most of whom are 18 or 19, Ferguson said.
Green, a three-term Democratic incumbent, is facing Republican Paul Wagemann in next week's general election. If re-elected, Green said, she'll try again to introduce a ban on alcoholic energy drinks, a move recommended by the state Liquor Control Board.
Green introduced a bill last session which passed in the House, but only after it was changed from proposing a ban to simply calling for detailed labeling listing the specific stimulants and their amounts.
"We had a lot of push-back from the major brewing companies," said Green, who said she would anticipate a lobbying campaign against a ban.
Last November, after hearing from a group of state attorneys general, including McKenna, the FDA notified producers of nearly 30 caffeinated alcoholic beverages that it was concerned about the safety and legality of their products.
"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, Deputy FDA commissioner, said at the time.
The agency asked the companies to produce evidence that adding caffeine to their products was safe. And it noted that two major brewers, Anheuser-Busch and Miller, had agreed to discontinue their caffeinated alcoholic beverages, Tilt and Bud Extra and Sparks, and not produce any similar drinks in the future.
FDA spokesman Michael Herndon on Tuesday said the agency's review of the products is still ongoing.
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LMAO at the PR.
