Fatal crash puts spotlight on drinks with alcohol, caffeine

If you've never heard of Four Loko, you probably aren't in college, where as many as one in four students have swilled some sort of beverage like Four Loko that mixes alcohol and caffeine with a fruity flavor.

There are lots of drinks like that. Most come in big, fat colorful cans the size of aluminum baseball bat barrels. They have names such as Liquid Charge, Rockstar 21 and Torque.

Most have an alcohol content of 12 percent - more than twice what's in a can of average domestic beer.

Getting that caffeine jolt along with an alcohol buzz is desirable in some circles. A Facebook page dedicated to Four Loko drinkers has more than 144,000 followers.

There, they post photos of themselves - all looking very young - hoisting 23.5-ounce cans of the stuff. There's lemonade flavor, blue raspberry, fruit punch and watermelon. Followers boast about getting hammered on the concoction.

"Oh Four Loko," writes one adoring consumer. "If I haven't told you lately, I love being drunk off you."

Locally, the brand made a splash in headlines over the weekend when police said a suspected drunk driver told them he had mixed liquor with Four Loko and smoked marijuana before he drove his Chevrolet Impala through a red light in St. Petersburg, killing an Orlando man and his three sons.

For many, after processing the shock of the tragedy, the next question was: What the heck is Four Loko, and who would drink a 23.5-ounce can of a concoction that mixes alcohol and caffeine and tastes like grape juice?

The answer: lots of young people.

Nicholas Klein, 21, for example, loves Four Loko.

"It's good for the money, $3 a can, and it is 12 percent alcohol," said Klein of Tampa. "With beer or other beverages, it drags me down. Caffeine and the taurine (an organic acid) in Four Loko give a good buzz. It doesn't make me want to go to bed."

Increasing popularity

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimated last year that 26 percent of college students had sipped an alcoholic beverage laced with caffeine. The agency is studying whether the stuff should be outlawed.

The federal government is concerned about the attraction the quaff has for the nation's youth.

"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," said Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of food and drugs with the department, in a statement issued late last year.

In November, the FDA sent warning letters to nearly 30 manufacturers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages ordering them to explain why their brew should not be banned.

Technically, adding one substance, such as caffeine, to another substance, such as alcohol, is unlawful, unless approved by the FDA or unless the manufacturer can show that it's generally recognized as safe, the agency said.

The FDA has received 19 responses to the 27 letters it sent out in November, said FDA spokesman Michael Herndon.

"The FDA intends to evaluate the information submitted by the manufacturers and other available scientific evidence as soon as possible in order to determine whether caffeine can be safely and lawfully added to alcoholic beverages," Herndon said in an e-mail to the Tribune.

When that decision will be made is unknown, he said.

The FDA has not approved adding caffeine in any level to alcoholic beverages and has only allowed caffeine in soft drinks in concentrations of less than 200 parts per million.

In 2009, Anheuser-Busch and Miller discontinued their caffeinated alcoholic beverages, Tilt and Bud Extra and Sparks, and agreed to not produce any caffeinated alcoholic beverages in the future, the FDA said.

'Legalized liquid cocaine'

The beverages and their marketing have been widely criticized and attorneys general in some states have opened investigations into health risks as well as the marketing packages. Most of the marketing is on social media websites, which are frequented by younger consumers. In many cases, packaging resembles non-alcoholic energy drinks, critics say.

Last month, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. called for an investigation into allegations that some caffeinated alcoholic beverages are being marketed to underage customers. He cited cans that look like non-alcoholic energy drinks.

He mentioned Four Loko and Joose as looking nearly undistinguishable from other energy non-alcoholic drinks.

One candidate for a Pennsylvania state senate seat said such beverages are "legalized liquid cocaine."

Four Loko is manufactured in Milwaukee by the Drink Four Brewing Company. Company executives have heard about the St. Petersburg wreck and the statements by the suspect about their product.

"We are deeply saddened by this horrific tragedy," said Chris Hunter, managing partner with Phusion Projects, the company that makes and distributes Four Loko. "Our thoughts are with the McConnell family during this difficult time."

In an e-mail to the Tribune, Hunter said the company recognizes the ills of alcohol abuse and misuse.

"We work very hard to ensure our products are consumed safely and responsibly by adults over the age of 21 for years, and we have a vested interest - both personal and professional - in assuring the continued responsible consumption of our products.

He refuted criticism that the company markets to young drinkers, saying the company has established marketing guidelines to make sure the product is sold only to adults over 21.

The labeling on the product clearly states that it contains alcohol, he said.

"We are proud of the work we do to ensure our products are used properly and only by adults of legal drinking age," Hunter said.

Some health researchers say that consuming caffeine and alcohol opens up the risk of alcohol-related injuries.

In a 2007 paper on energy drinks and alcohol, the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog group, cited research that such a mixture can cause increased anxiety, panic attacks, increased blood pressure and insomnia.

"Caffeine, a stimulant, masks the intoxicating effects of alcohol, which may lead to increased risk-taking," the authors said.

Becky Gage, a victim advocate with Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Hillsborough County, said marketing such drinks to young people should be cause for concern. She said people should be aware of what they're putting into their bodies.

"Just the fact that an energy drink full of caffeine is associated with alcohol," she said, "Well, anybody that drinks that should have a concern."