Four Loko

[pyropunker25]

ok... Four Loko...its been on news...i dont understand the band on them? they just got popular because of the media...they are banned here in nh, so i drove to vt to try one, or two... i rather have a six pack of PBR pounders... input lets go...

 

[TerriYockee_Boi]

theyre nasty. but girls love them. so i keep them around
to me sugar + alcohol = bad

 

[TerriYockee_Boi]

and i guess it was banned because their saying caffeine + alcohol is bad as well.
unless the four loko company can prove that it is safe to mix the two.
seems less dangerous than red bull and vodka to me

 

[LSVMee98]

yeah im finna load up on them tomorrow lemonades the best..... yeah they say it has high amounts of caffiene makin it stronger than an average beer....


good while it lasted

 

[gunny704]

I hate the damn watermelon flavor! its nastayyy! but they will get u drunk thats for sure.

 

[DRISSN]

f**k four loco. good riddance. i will never drink another one after the last time.

 

[KAVIKA]

Gutrot!

 

[DarkCreep]

Media made them popular and media prepared their demise.

Theres not much wrong with them.. But for some reason everyone gets super f**ked up on em and then they become pussies and dont wanna drink em anymore.


<3 it when the chicks drink it though cuz they get f**ked up!!

 

[Kswest]

This is where it started

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/25/four-loko-sickened-centra_n_773597.html

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Sugary, high-alcohol energy drinks that are popular with college students who want to get drunk quickly and cheaply came under renewed scrutiny Monday as investigators announced that nine freshmen had been hospitalized after drinking them at an off-campus party.

Several states are considering outlawing the drinks and at least two universities have banned them from campus while the Food and Drug Administration reviews their safety.

Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna called for the drinks to be banned and sent a letter to the FDA on Monday, saying the drinks "present a serious threat to public health and safety."

The issue received new attention after the Oct. 8 party in Roslyn, a picturesque mountain town known as the place where part of the 1990s television series "Northern Exposure" was filmed.

Police first responded to a report of an unconscious female in a grocery store parking lot and learned about the party from her friends. At the home, officers found a chaotic scene, with students from nearby Central Washington University passed out and so intoxicated that investigators thought they had overdosed on drugs.

Nine students who drank a caffeinated malt liquor called Four Loko were hospitalized with blood-alcohol levels ranging from 0.12 percent to 0.35 percent, and a female student nearly died, CWU President James L. Gaudino said. A blood-alcohol concentration of 0.30 percent is considered potentially lethal.

All the hospitalized students were inexperienced drinkers – freshmen ranging in age from 17 to 19. Toxicology results showed no drugs in their bloodstreams, though a small amount of marijuana was reported at the party, university police Chief Steve Rittereiser said.

Some students admitted drinking vodka, rum and beer with Four Loko, which is made by Phusion Projects Inc., of Chicago.

Phusion said in a statement that people have consumed caffeine and alcohol together safely for years. The company said it markets its products responsibly to those of legal drinking age and shares with college administrators the goal of making campuses safe and healthy environments.

The unacceptable incident at Central Washington University, which appears to have involved hard liquor, such as vodka and rum, beer, our products, and possibly illicit substances, is precisely why we go to great lengths to ensure our products are not sold to underage consumers and are not abused," the statement said.

The FDA sent a warning letter to Phusion Products in November 2009 asking the company for information that shows adding caffeine to alcoholic beverages is safe, and the case remains open, the agency said in a statement Monday.

Four Loko comes in several varieties, including fruit punch and blue raspberry. A 23.5-ounce can sells for about $2.50 and has an alcohol content of 12 percent, comparable to four beers, according to the company's website.

Health advocates say the caffeine in the drink can also suspend the effects of alcohol consumption, allowing a person to consume more than usual.

"It gets you really drunk really fast and it gives you a lot of energy so you're not going to be laying down and sleeping," said 18-year-old CWU freshman Hyatt Van Cotthem of Everett, Wash., who said he's tried the beverage but doesn't drink it because the taste is "nasty." He didn't attend the party.

Regulating such drinks would be a good idea, Cotthem said, because he's seen so many students do dumb things when drinking it. But he and a friend also questioned that the drink alone could have wreaked so much havoc.

"There's no way that Four Loko caused all these people to just pass out," he said.

The nine sickened students have recovered and returned to their classes. No criminal charges have been filed, but Rittereiser said the investigation into the source of the alcohol continues.

Gaudino banned alcoholic energy drinks from CWU's campus Monday, following the president of New Jersey's Ramapo College, who banned the drinks last month after attributing several students' hospitalizations to Four Loko.

"It's not that we'd seen a lot of consumption, but we'd seen enough that it worried us, because it was in situations of extreme intoxication," Ramapo President Peter Mercer said Monday. "Having seen no redeeming social use for it, and seeing the damage and danger it could pose, I ordered a ban."

Mercer said he eagerly awaits the results of the FDA review and supports a measure to ban the drinks in New Jersey.

Utah and Montana have restricted the sale of the caffeinated malt liquors to just state liquor stores. A bill to ban the drinks in Washington state failed in the Legislature earlier this year, but McKenna and Gov. Chris Gregoire said they would support another effort.

McKenna also said his office would review the marketing of such drinks, particularly to minors, to determine if consumer protection laws have been violated. The state previously raised concerns with the nation's two largest brewers, MillerCoors LLC and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, about similar drinks.

"We never brought a lawsuit against them because they acted like good corporate citizens and removed the products," McKenna said.

Steven Schmidt, a spokesman for the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, said many states feel they need to act quickly on the issue because the drinks are increasing in popularity.

"There's really a sense that people consuming these drinks don't understand how much alcohol they are drinking," he said. "These products pack a punch, and they are relatively inexpensive."

 

[253eg]

My friends are all butt-hurt cause WA banned these. I could careless about these drinks.

 

[lethalmilkshake]

They taste good, but before you know it you're drunk. I had 3 one after another and I was f**ked up for the night.

 

[lethal6]

My friends are all butt-hurt cause WA banned these. I could careless about these drinks.

Same here. A bunch of the techs out in the shop at work are bitching as well.

 

[vjf915]

I opened one, took two sips. It was by far the nastiest beverage I have ever tried in my entire life.

 

[Shiznit]

they say that the caffeine makes you feel like you arent drunk, but at 11% alcohol by volume you really are. there have been a few reported deaths from this drink and similar 'sparks' as well as a number of heart attacks for people between the ages of 20-25.

i say the ban shouldve come sooner

 

[sf22189]

The only way for "Phusion" to come on top is to just agree to a non caffeinated drink. When the industry giants MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch agreed to take out the "energy" part of the drink in their drinks (Sparks and Tilt), you know a smaller company with less influences are likely to win these battles.

EDIT: on another note... i might go buy a whole lot of the drink so that when bans start I can sell them for a little more than and profit even though that would be illegal as hell so i wont.

 

[JdmPrncss]

I find them nasty... There has not been one I have tried that I like...

 

[pyropunker25]

EDIT: on another note... i might go buy a whole lot of the drink so that when bans start I can sell them for a little more than and profit even though that would be illegal as hell so i wont.

hahaha thats what im gonna do...im at college, so selling one for $5 compared to $2.50...win

 

[XpL0d3r]

I like them depending on the flavor. The grape and fruit punch are actually good. Grape actually tastes like grape juice. Blue raspberry or watermelon.. disgusting. There is a "restriction" on them here in MA now... only places that can sell liquor are allowed to sell them. I assume they'll be banned soon in MA though.

I don't think they should be banned. Just because people aren't responsible with them. Are we going to ban Jagerbombs in bars now too? It's still caffeine and alcohol..

I've had no problems drinking the few I have.. I'm mostly a beer guy myself but if I can get a nice buzz for $2.50 at a party well wtf why not.

Sparks or whatever they are have been out for YEARS, no problems really with those. There's just a bunch of hype on them because they're popular and cheap.

I DID have a friend who drank two, then stole a 30 rack from a party, and pissed himself later that night.. in a diner. It was awesome.

 

[joe7987]

It's just the mixture of caffeine and alcohol that can make for a bad situation.

Alcohol is a depressant (in a nutshell, makes you feel tired). Caffeine is a stimulant (makes you feel energetic). Part of the "feeling drunk" is the depressant effect of the alcohol. The caffeine negates this effect. In other words, you lose a warning sign of drunkenness. This doesn't allow you to have as much control over your level of drunkenness which leads you to drink more than you would normally. Eventually the caffeine wears off, and it all hits you.

Couple this with the fact that caffeine is a diuretic (depletes you of water), and you have a drink that forces the alcohol to have more of an effect on you.

Honestly, it's ridiculous that this thing is being banned. It's no different than grabbing a monster before the party and then getting wasted. The company just combined the two and made it easier for consumers to kill two birds with one stone. They should simply require a warning statement on the can saying something about the combination of alcohol and caffeine. If they haven't banned cigarettes yet, this thing should definitely not be on its way out.

I've personally never had one, so this is completely unbiased. It's just simple chemistry though. The government needs to do some research on things before they go and decide for or against it. The people who are having issues with these drinks are either 1. misinformed, or 2. dumb

 

[Matt.]

I can drink about 10 or 15 mixed drinks of red bull and vodka or even monster and vodka and stay awake all night, but I don't die... these people are weak!