With a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban of caffeinated alcohol drinks on its way, fans of products like Four Loko are snapping up the stuff with all due haste.
The Washington Post reports that, with the announcement earlier this week of a pending ban on the alcoholic energy drinks, college students in the Washington area are stockpiling the stuff, some planning elaborate good-bye parties for the drinks, while other intend to make a killing as the supply is reduced.
“I can buy it for around $2 a can, and as stores sell out, people are willing to pay more,” said Greg Gerlach, an economics student at American University. “People know I’m selling it. Everyone knows I’m obsessed with this stuff.”
The government’s concern stems from a series of hospitalizations of college students who had suffered alcohol poisoning as a result of partying with the boozy energy drinks. Even before the FDA warned four manufacturers on Wednesday to stop distributing the drinks within two weeks, some states (such as Michigan) and universities (the University of Rhode Island) had already taken action — banning the potent products.
Experts say that products like Four Loko, which has earned the nickname “blackout in a can,” are especially dangerous because the caffeine tends to counteract the depressive effects of alcohol, giving drinkers an alert buzz and a false sense of how intoxicated they are.
“Amongst some users, there’s a higher incidence of risk-taking behaviors because their perceptions of their limitations are distorted,” Dr. Steven Lipshultz, chief of pediatrics at the University of Miami, told the Los Angeles Times.
Related Posts:
FDA Moves Against “Blackout in a Can” and Other Caffeine-Alcohol Drinks
Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks Blamed in the Hospitalization of 9 Students
