Energy drinks have been with us for a while. Mixing them with alcohol was probably an inevitable result. For some reason, Four Loko has become the target of a ban. Personally, I have never had a Four Loko. I tried Red Bull for a while and have tasted a couple of the others, but it seems like much to ado about nothing.
The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission issued an emergency regulation last week banning sales of alcoholic beverages with caffeine on the grounds that such products represent an immediate public-health risk. A week earlier, the Food and Drug Administration declared that Four Loko and similar drinks cannot remain on the market without changing their formulas.
But as the Boston Globe pointed out : alcohol and caffeine — are two legal and exceedingly common substances…. Before Four Loko, there was vodka and Red Bull. Before that, there was rum and Coke, not to mention Irish coffee.
Hopefully, with education, binge drinking and drinking/driving will get the real attention.
(update) One of the pointed out this chart which is worth looking at:
