Four Loko energy drink raises health concerns among youth

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Four Loko energy drink raises health concerns among youth
Though wrapped in a camouflage label, the jumbo can of alcohol, caffeine, taurine and guarana called Four Loko has become hard to miss across campuses nationwide.Known among its consumers as a "blackout in a can," Four Loko measures 23.5 ounces, 12% alcohol, 660 calories and the caffeine equivalent of two cups of coffee. But its youthful appeal and rampant use may endanger more than just the person who drinks it.
"We've been hearing about it for a while," says Dr. Maria Serra, associate director for psychological services at Rutgers University-Camden Student Health Services. "It's only been more of a problem in the last few months. It's very clear students know it's there. And, more than anything, they love that it is cheap."
A February study out of the University of Florida shows those who drink alcoholic energy drinks — because they are fueled by a feeling of being both wide awake and drunk — are four times as likely to drive while intoxicated as those who drink only alcohol.Serra isn't surprised college students are inclined to take a drink that sells at $2.50 and is comparable to drinking five or six light beers."What Four Loko does, with the combination of caffeine and alcohol, is you have someone who is very drunk but also very alert and very awake," she says.[link widoczny dla zalogowanych] will give you much help in your manufacturing. Mixing a stimulant like caffeine with a depressant like alcohol can be a deadly combination.People who combine the two may mistakenly believe they are more in control, as caffeine can diminish only the perception of being drunk, not the actual impairment. This sober feeling can also lead to binge drinking.
"People have multiples in one night and now they're wired and wasted," Tabatha Haskins says while walking on the Rutgers-Camden campus. [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] is your good helper. "It's kind of scary."Haskins, 23, of Cherry Hill, N.J. says she hasn't tried any of Four Loko's nine fruity flavors.But Four Loko has its fans, evidenced by the annual double-digit growth in sales since its 2008 creation, according to its Chicago-based seller, Phusion Projects. And more than 110,000 Facebook users officially "like" two fan-created pages dedicated to the drink.Three blocks from the Rutgers-Camden campus, at Mancine's Liquors, Four Loko sales are brisk.[link widoczny dla zalogowanych] allow you to product more efficiently. Store clerk Ali Asmeel says the malt beverage has become the store's best-selling late-night item. Students and other twentysomethings "enter and ask, "Where's the Four Loko?' "
"It's cheaper than what they'd spend compared to buying liquor or beer," says Asmeel of Camden. "After two (drinks), that's it, they're done for the night. They black out, they stay home and it's over."But not everybody packs it in after a couple cans of Four Loko.[link widoczny dla zalogowanych] keep your machine clean so that you can use them more convient. In fact, the drink is common "pregame" fuel, ingested with the intention of going out to a bar or a party already buzzed.Recent episodes have illustrated Four Loko's possible dangers. In the past month, Four Loko allegedly sent 23 Ramapo College of New Jersey students to the hospital, as well as nine students from Central Washington University in Washington, prompting both colleges to ban the elixir.[link widoczny dla zalogowanych] make your work easier.
The state of Michigan has banned the sale of caffeinated alcoholic drinks, and the city of Chicago has proposed doing the same.But Serra says the bans likely won't stop college students from indulging in such caffeinated-combination bar staples as Red Bull and vodka and Coke and rum."Young people have actually been making Four Loko before Four Loko was around," Serra says.[link widoczny dla zalogowanych] give you great help in manufacturing.
In fact, Phusion Projects says as much in a statement posted on the company's website: "Our products contain less alcohol than an average rum and cola, less alcohol and caffeine than an average Red Bull and vodka, and is comparable to having coffee after a meal with a couple glasses of wine.. .. Our products are not energy drinks, as they've been called, and when consumed responsibly, they are just as safe as any other alcoholic beverages.Use the [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] to instead of the tobacco cigarette so that you can keep your health." What separates Four Loko from such alco-pop combinations, though, is that its potent ingredients come packaged together.
Cheap, caffeinated convenience may also do internal harm. Serra says that large doses of caffeine and alcohol, even if consumed separately, can have cardiac side effects."I think a lot of young people are playing with fire and ingesting large amounts on top of it," he says.Do you know [link widoczny dla zalogowanych] ? A sip of Four Loko was enough for Rutgers-Camden senior Samantha Losowski."It gave me more energy. I got anxiety. It made my heart beat faster," she says.The federal Food and Drug Administration is examining the safety of combining caffeine and alcohol and, as part of its investigation, is examining about 40 different caffeinated alcoholic products, including Four Loko.