Over the weekend, wheels on an effective ban on Four Loko and other caffeinated alcohol drinks got moving. The State Liquor Authority pressured distributors to stop selling the drinks to New York retailers by December 10th, and the makers of Four Loko agreed to stop giving the drinks to the distributors by November 19th. Lawmakers say teenagers can get the sweet "blackout in a can" far too easily, and bodega owners agree. One 19-year-old said kids are constantly asking for the stuff at his family's deli in Crown Heights. "Sometimes kids come in before school," he told the Daily News. "They buy them like crazy." And when a teenager demands alcohol at 8 a.m., you have to sell it to them, right?
The drinks have as much alcohol as three beers, and as much caffeine as three cups of coffee. "The caffeine wakes you up, causing you to drink more," said state Sen. Jeff Klein. "It can be lethal." However, many argue that making the drinks illegal will just make them even more attractive to teenagers looking to black out. "They'll start selling it out on the street," said Larissa Castro. Or kids will just mix Red Bull and vodka, like they've been doing ever since Red Bull came out.
In their statement about the ban, Phusion Products announces they "will instead begin selling only non-caffeinated versions of its products in New York as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues its now year-long examination of roughly 40 caffeinated alcoholic beverage products on the market nationwide." So that puts teenagers back to drinking Boone's Farm. Progress! There is hope for anyone looking to get Loko'd in the state; "Phusion reserves the right to apply to resume the sale and distribution of caffeinated alcoholic beverages, including Four Loko, in the state of New York if emerging science, regulatory developments or other relevant changes in circumstances arise." Don't let us down, FDA!
