% wise, yup same amount of liquor - and perhaps this point of view is coming from my experience of what i've seen over the years, but the concentration of that alcohol is going to have a completely different effect on the body (neither good mind you). 24oz beverage with 12% alcohol opposed to 6oz beverage with 40% alcohol.
I think it is very different than a bottle of vodka - because most people do know that drinking a bottle of vodka is very dangerous. If it were common knowledge that these energy-drink/alcoholic beverages were just as dangerous, then I'd have no problem with them, but I don't think that's the impression most people have (I certainly didn't).
The danger is that they look just like much safer beverages. People are going to see them as no different than mixing a can of cola with a can of beer.
It would be a bit like selling antifreeze in a bottle that looked like a soda bottle - you've made something deadly look safe.
Straight vodka is not sold in pop-top cans. Even higher proof mixed drinks aren't generally sold in cans, they're sold in screw-top bottles.
Whether we realize it or not, people make associations based on common appearance - we associate glass bottles with strong alcohol, and cans with non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages.
There's a similar outrage and outcry against nicotine candy sold in bright plastic hinged containers (like candy and breathmints). The nicotine mints look so much like the candy marketed to children, that there's a fear that parents and children might mistake them for candy. There's already been several accidental overdoses (yes it's the parents' responsibility to keep these out of the reach of children, but making the container look less like a candy or mint container certainly wouldn't be a bad idea).
With enough injuries and deaths, people will change their assumptions, but do we need to let it get that far? Isn't there a way to make it more clear that these substances are more dangerous than they appear?
Instead, the caffeine appears to override the natural sleepiness that occurs when someone drinks alcohol. It also delays the feeling of drunkenness, so those who drink an alcoholic energy drink are likely to keep drinking beyond their normal limits.
This part of the article stood out to me. I think it is wrong to sell these drinks, and the targets are youth who will drink them because it can get them drunk faster. Youth may not be aware just how fast it can get them drunk and drink way more than necessary. I hate redbull even on its own, I can't imagine drinking one of these.
So the first time I saw these, I didn't know what they were. My friend had one and they look like energy drinks. I took a sip and I could see the appeal. It tasted like fruit punch (with a horrible aftertaste). I didn't drink anymore because I was 105 back then and I already had a low tolerance for alcohol but I've seen people chug these. They say they're fine after but once the alcohol hits, it's pretty bad.
I agree that this drink shouldn't be sold. I know quite a few people who drink Four Loko. One I consider a borderline alcoholic. He drinks multiple beers everyday. But I saw him drink a Four Loko once and a few hours later he was out. I mean OUT. The next day he said he had the worst hangover ever. He was surprised at how bad he felt. He says he doesn't drink Four Loko anymore.
We don't have them in Canada, and we were in Las Vegas ast week for a vacation, my partner loves them and had a couple during our vacation, I can't handle one sip of the stuff, it's nasty! And according to their website, Four Loko is now being produced without caffein/taurine/guarana since last week. Now it's just going to be fruity beer. Yuk.
But it was clearly unhealthy, so unhealthy that they voluntarily stopped producing it in its original form. That speaks for itself.
I read the article and still, if they ban this then I think they'd need to ban other drinks with alcohol and high caffeine content. Sure you can have 1 mixed drink, but I guess I'm thinking drinkers tend to have more than one drink (I rarely drink myself - wine, once or twice/year usually)
When I was reading this article, I was thinking of a particular incident where I was with a few friends at a bar and one of them had 2 red bulls at least along with whatever they were drinking.
I read the article and still, if they ban this then I think they'd need to ban other drinks with alcohol and high caffeine content. Sure you can have 1 mixed drink, but I guess I'm thinking drinkers tend to have more than one drink (I rarely drink myself - wine, once or twice/year usually)
These are a lot different than a RedBull mixed drink. You would have to combine more than 3 Red Bulls and 5 shots of Vodka to get the amount of alcohol in just the one can. Since people do tend to have more than one drink, if they don't realize how strong these drinks are, just that second drink could bring them into the danger zone for alcohol poisoning.
It isn't the amount of alcohol that is the problem - people can choose to swallow caffeine pills and wash it down with a bottle of vodka - but they will know that they're doing it.
I don't know that banning is the answer, because some idiots will mix up their own, but it's education that is so important. People need to be aware of what is in these cans (especially since they don't look any more dangerous than any other canned beverage).
I don't think a warning label would be too much to ask (and a real, visible warning label, not fine print that you need a magnifying glass to see).
Do they not sell giant bottles of flavored vodka in your state? Red Bull? Kegs of beer? Kitchen knives that people could kill someone with?
Where is the line drawn?
Red Bull isn't alcoholic though, is it? It's just got a lot of caffeine. (I've never tried it or anything like it.) He's talking about that 4 Loco stuff.
My mom loves black Russians (Kahlua + vodka), and I think I tried Irish coffee once (coffee + Irish whiskey + whipped cream). I think there is a difference though: you sip the cocktails but I assume you're expected, or encouraged, or something to chug-a-lug the 4 Loco
Red Bull isn't alcoholic though, is it? It's just got a lot of caffeine. (I've never tried it or anything like it.) He's talking about that 4 Loco stuff.
Actually Red Bull doesn't have all that much caffeine (especially compared to the products talked about in the article). Red Bull has more caffeine than most sodas, but less than most coffees (ounce per ounce). Red Bull has about 10g of caffeine per ounce (80 in a can). The same 8 ounces of coffee has about 100g. 12 ounces of Mountain Dew has about 50g of caffeine.
Still the same amount of booze......
