Alcoholic energy drink trend raises concerns

Star Telegram ^ | September 5, 2007 | MELISSA VARGAS

[Eric Blair 2084]

At bars across the country, people are regularly demanding a vodka or Jagermeister mixed with Red Bull.

Now some have the option of switching to alcohol already infused with energy.

Some do it for the taste, others for the jolt of energy. But experts say the trendy cocktails could be harmful, giving drinkers a false sense of alertness that could lead to disaster.

More than two dozen attorneys general across the nation recently announced that alcohol and energy drinks don't mix, and asked the federal government to take another look at what is in the drinks and how they are being marketed.

Lona Sandon, a registered dietitian and assistant professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, agrees that the drinks are dangerous.

"All it does is make a wide-awake drunk," she said. "The person might also falsely believe they can drink more because they don't feel tired and woozy -- putting themselves and others at a greater risk."

Heightened demand

Bars everywhere are scrambling to keep Red Bull, Monster and other energy drinks on their shelves as mixers. To meet the demand, Anheuser-Busch and other alcohol manufacturers are now offering liquor and beer infused with caffeine and taurine -- ingredients of most energy drinks.

Anheuser-Busch markets Tilt, Miller Brewing Co. markets Sparks, and Charge Beverages markets Liquid Charge and Liquid Core. There's also the high-end spirit V2 vodka, which has energy-boosting ingredients.

"People want the energy," said V2 spokeswoman Diane Shader Smith.

The attorneys general say the packaging does not mention the potentially harmful consequences of mixing caffeine and other stimulants with alcohol, which is a depressant. They also contend that some of the less-expensive products are packaged to look like nonalcoholic energy drinks and are aimed at underage consumers.

In their letter to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, the attorneys general singled out Miller Brewing Co., Anheuser-Busch and Charge Beverages as makers of the most popular products aimed at minors.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has not joined the campaign.

"Alcoholic energy drinks mimic nonalcoholic energy beverages that are very popular with youth," a news release from Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers states.

From 2003 to 2006, sales of Miller's energy brand Sparks more than doubled to 66,570,000 pints, according to a company news release.

A matter of taste

Mixing alcohol and energizing ingredients is not new -- rum and Coke and Kahlua have been favorites for generations.

V2 President James Goldstein said V2 is not marketed to minors but to sophisticated adults because it is packaged as a super-premium vodka.

"Spirits are meticulously reviewed by the government," he said. "The liquor industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries. I don't think the government would put something on the market that they consider unhealthy for people to consume."

The Pour House in Fort Worth has been stocking Red Bull as a mixer for years and it sells well, general manager David Bailey said. But his clientele has not yet developed a taste for Bud Extra, he said.

At 8.0 Bar in Fort Worth, energy cocktails have been enormously popular during the past 18 months, said general manager Curt Voirin. The bar does not carry the pre-mixed liquor but is keeping an eye on demand, Voirin said.

"I think the effects of the energy drink are psychosomatic," Voirin said. "It's trendy, which is important to kids ... but it's double-edged. You have a depressant on one end and a stimulant on the other. I'm not sure of the effect that could have on the body."

All it does is make a wide-awake drunk.

Energizing ingredients

Caffeine: A stimulant found in coffee, chocolate and tea. It excites the central nervous system and, in the right amounts, releases adrenaline and can enhance heart function.

Taurine: One of the most abundant amino acids in the body, it is thought to help regulate heartbeat, maintain cell membranes and affect the release of neurotransmitters in the brain.

Ginseng: A perennial herb believed to have many medicinal qualities, including as a stimulant.

Guarana: An herb from the Amazon rain forest with a long history of use as a stimulant in beverages. It has also been used to treat arthritis, diarrhea and headaches.

Source: Healthlibrary.com

Nonalcoholic energy drinks

Monster

Rockstar

Red Bull

No Name (formerly marketed as Cocaine)

Amp

Pink

Omega

Rush!

Alcoholic energy drinks

Sparks

Tilt

Bud Extra

V2 vodka

Liquid Charge

Liquid Core

[TigersEye]

Oh yeahhhhh. I love coffee ice cream. That would be good in Bailey’s. Just a scoop and no blending I think.

[TigersEye]

Sure, liberals and progressives (read Marxist communists) call them obscene profits. I don’t. If the market bears it it is fair IMO.

[Eric Blair 2084]

I know exactly what you mean. Been in both places and done that.

Now it’s time for me to make it upstairs to bed and go to sleep.

If there is one good thing about smoking bans, it’s that they encourage people to stay home and not spend $4.50 per beer. They can spend 85 cents instead. Then at the end of the night they can just walk upstairs and not worry about a State Trooper pulling them over when they trip on their kids toys.

Of course, if they drank the type of Alcoholic beverages that was the subject of this discussion, they might not go to sleep until 9 am if ever.

[Eric Blair 2084]

So then what are we disagreeing about?

Good night, TE.

[Species8472]

Nice to meet you as well.

Sorry to break it to you, but I have no problem with the responsible use of alcohol. I even owned part of a microbrewery once upon a time. Still brew my own.

What I object to is people that drink for effect rather that taste (ever taste redbull? Yeacch!).

Mixing stimulants and alcohol is simply a way to get drunker quicker and maintain the high longer. Might as well inject the alcohol directly into a vein.

And thats a lot different than sipping a good single malt scotch or quaffing a pint of Guinness.

[CarrotAndStick]

Vodka in a Tube : Go Wodka Extreme

 

Vodka is in a tube containing 10.5% alcohol. There are three flavors; cranberry, lemon, energy.

(go-more.com/ via strangenewproducts.com)

Vodka in a Tube

by Steve, Thursday, December 01, 2005  

 

 

"Go Wodka Extreme" is marketed as the world's first drink in a tube. It's fruit flavored vodka, containing 10.5% alcohol by volume. They also have a more modest line of tubes with just 4% ABV.

Currently only available in Austria and Germany, the 190ml Extreme tubes come in three varieties: Cranberry, Lemon, and Energy.

The website shows photos of people drinking Go Wodka, looking as if they're sucking on tubes of toothpaste.

[Gondring]

Nanny State? I don't see that the government is doing anything.

Sounds to me like just the opposite...that a concern is being handled via private discussion and information is being disseminated via our Free Press.

How would you want it to work?

[Gondring]

Okay, I take it back...I reread and somehow missed the idiotic A.G.s!

[absolootezer0]

blah. you have to drink a whole friggin lot for it to really effect you. most drink only call for 3-4 oz of energy drink- so you get at least 2 serving out of a can.
you’d still have to down a number of ‘bombs to get the same effect ad a cup of irish coffee.

[Wolfie]

Look, its our God given right to get ripped and head out on the highway. Just don’t smoke a joint.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Looks like my Irish Coffee habit may be on the chopping block next, Eh?

I’ll be in my bunker if anyone needs me...

[TheKidster]

"All it does is make a wide-awake drunk,"

I'd much rather have them asleep on the sidewalk. We need a federal ban now.....for the children!

[Vision]

This thought crossed my mind in college.

It’s a very mild speedball. I remember taking vivarin to stay up partying(drinking) and I’ll tell you...it felt great. Not sure what good it would produce if the general public started using it.

[gathersnomoss]

It has been called Red Bull and Vodka for years, nothing new here.

[traviskicks]

"More than two dozen attorneys general across the nation recently announced that alcohol and energy drinks don't mix..."




Libertarian ping! To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here.

[TheKidster]

GOd protects fools and drunks, haven’t you heard that before?

[gondramB]

Hmmm the energy drinks have caffeine ,yes?

Will they ban drinking coffee and alcohol too?

[finnman69]

I’m unclassifiable....LOL. Ripping on Larry Craig with toilet humor is TOO easy.

Dig my plain ole budwesier too. And a good bourbon like Dickell. But im a recent convert on Rockstar. Plus it has decent vitamins, and the blue sugarfree rockstar is way better for you than the ill tasting red bull.

white Rockstar is kind of a lemony taste, Mango is my fav but has 200 calories. Blue is the best ideal, taste, pep, no calories.

[USMCPOP]

Amish speedball: hard cider and an angry bull

[Paradox]

Back when I was more into bodybuilding, I used to take the “ECA” (Ephedrine, Caffeine, Aspirin) stack. Man, that would get you wired. Funny thing was, that while “on” said stack, I could hardly catch a buzz at all. By the time I had drank enough to feel anything, I was well on my way to getting sick..