Debunking Beer Can Chicken: A Waste Of Good Beer, And Dangerous
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Never heard of Four Loko? Try hitting the nearest college campus. The carbonated drink -- a potent combination of alcohol and caffeine designed several years ago by three college kids -- is available in teen-friendly flavors like Fruit Punch, Lemonade, and Blue Raspberry. Called "caffeinated booze," it may sound like an oxymoron, but it's a bona fide trend -- the Food and Drug Administration lists 30 similar products. It's also been referred to as a "blackout in a can," but for some kids the results are far worse -- they're ending up in the hospital.
Despite the old folk remedy of using coffee to sober up a drunk, the combination of caffeine and alcohol can have a disastrous effect. "When you put all these things together, it's a nightmare," Harris Stratyner, a vice president at the Caron Treatment Center and an addiction specialist, told Good Morning America today. "The caffeine may make you feel like you're not getting drunk as quickly, so you may ingest more." In other words, you don't feel the usual hallmarks of overdoing it -- until you've way, way overdone it. And given how much alcohol each can contains -- around 12 percent, equal to four beers -- this can be potentially deadly. In the past month, more than two dozen college students at Central Washington University and Ramapo College in New Jersey have been hospitalized after drinking Four Loko.
Four Loko's parent company, Phusion Projects, is adamant that its product is intended for adults of legal drinking age, despite the brightly colored packaging and candy-ready flavorings. In a statement to ABC News, the company also suggested the affected students at Central Washington might have mixed the drink with "illicit substances," but ABC reports that police toxicology results show no evidence of drug use.
Underage drinking aside, the question is being raised of whether caffeinated alcohol is safe to drink at any age, and the FDA has released a statement that it intends to investigate the legality of such products. The FDA statement quoted Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of food and drugs, saying, "The increasing popularity of consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages by college students and reports of potential health and safety issues necessitates that we look seriously at the scientific evidence as soon as possible." The chief of police investigating the Ramapo College incident put it more succinctly in the The Record : "The bottom line on the product is it gets you very drunk, very quick."
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10-26-2010 @12:48PM dave said... bear in mind, also, that these cans are 23.5 oz. so at 12% alcohol, each can is equivalent to well more than a 6-pack of budweiser.
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10-26-2010 @1:39PM math teacher said... Where did you guys learn to do math? Bud has 5% at 12oz. There is no way drinking one can is more then a six pack. Comon!
10-26-2010 @1:57PM elky999 said... well...bud light anyways.
10-29-2010 @4:26PM zane said... have you tried the awesome beer golf game on http://bit.ly/cwi2Ul it's free to play!
10-26-2010 @6:45PM DrunkenMick said... Actually Dave is almost spot on. At 23.5oz @ 12% that equals approx. 2.82oz of alcohol per can. Do the math on a 6 pack of bud and you get 3oz of alcohol per 6/pack. So yeah, downing one of this is equivalent to drinking a 6-pack of Budweiser.
I don't understand though, when i'm in Vegas my drink of choice is always Red Bull and Stoli. Been drinking it for years, why is this all of a sudden a big deal?
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10-28-2010 @9:13AM JJ said... The idea is not the combo of caffeine and alcohol. The idea is this is a cheap drink (no more than $3 per can) that is available to students, many under 21. No one knows HOW to drink it, they just chug like it is nothing. That is the issue. If you finish a can of 4 Loko in less than 30 minutes you will black out or worse. In less than 45 you will get wasted. The best way to drink is 2 large sips every 5 minutes. Gets you drunk but nothing damaging.
@Justin Grey Just so you know, ALL alcohol is dangerous. At 16 to 25, we are all morons about alcohol, it is not just 4loko. If you can't handle it, then don't drink it. Simple.
For me personally, I cannot drink more than half a can and that puts me right where I want to be. The rest I share with a friend.
10-28-2010 @8:36PM Octavia said... i dont think theres nun wrong wit a 4 loco.its only 12 percent alcohol in it
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10-29-2010 @4:11PM lol said... Yes! can we please have the government tell us more of what we can and cannot drink and eat.... *insert sarcasm here* eff you uncle sam, I'm getting GD sick of this crap.
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10-30-2010 @3:15PM GaBe said... @DrunkenMick, it is about the same as redbull and vodka, but i doubt that you drink about 24oz of it in like 30min like they do with 4loko.
I work at a liquor store, and turned this stuff down when they came in with it last year. It tastes horrible. The only reason why the 21 crowd come in and buy it 6-8 cans at a time is because it gets you messed up fast.
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11-10-2010 @10:31PM emiiiiiiiily said... If everyone's so concerned with this, they shouldn't drink it. Isn't America a free country? Isn't alcohol in general dangerous? Aren't cigarettes legal? If one is aware of the dangers of their choice to drink this product, isn't that their decision? People do things every day knowing that it harms them. Choosing is key. Government shouldn't make that decision for you. It's not like it's a can of heroin.
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