Four Loko at Center of Heated Beverage Debate
What would you call a canned drink that contains the equivalent of 3 to 4 cans of beer plus the caffeine jolt of 3 cups of coffee?

October 26, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- What would you call a canned drink that contains the equivalent of 3 to 4 cans of beer plus the caffeine jolt of 3 cups of coffee?

Dangerous?

Officials in at least four states think so and are trying to restrict sales of the drink Four Loko, which has become wildly popular among college students.

Last weekend, 11 college students in Washington state suffered alcohol poisoning from taking too much of the drinks. Some colleges have already banned the drink from its campuses. New Jersey is one of the states looking to ban the drink entirely.

Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna called for the drinks to be banned and sent a letter to the FDA saying the drinks "present a serious threat to public health and safety."

Four Loko contains 12 percent alcohol, equivalent to three or four 12-ounce beers, and taurine, caffeine and guarana. Guarana alone contains up to three times more caffeine than coffee.

Some students call it "liquid crack." Convenience store vendors say that cases of Four Loko fly off the shelf on weekends.

Phusion, the makers of Four Loko, have vigorously defended the drink. In a statement they said, "People have safely enjoyed mixing alcohol and caffeine products for years in their homes, and in restaurants and bars. 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."

For more beverage news, visit Beverage Industry Today. Located at http://beverages.einnews.com, Beverage Industry Today is a beverage industry media monitoring service from EIN News.

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