EDITORIAL: Ban on alcoholic energy drinks appropriate until research, regulations in place

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The Michigan Liquor Control Commission has issued a ban on alcoholic energy drinks in the state — a drastic step but necessary for the time being.

Alcoholic beverages such as Four Loko, Sparks and Joose are most commonly sold in colorful 24-ounce cans, each of which contains the caffeine equivalent of four cups of coffee and the alcohol equivalent of five to six bottles of beer.

The drink has been ordered off Michigan shelves following a rash of hospitalizations of underage and college-aged drinkers and general widespread concern about the safety of the beverages.

For now, the best decision for the health and safety of consumers is to keep these products off shelves. It is not unlikely such beverages will eventually make it back into retail stores, but a few things need to happen first.

Most importantly, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration needs to complete its studies on alcoholic energy drinks. It should be determined, on a federal level, whether or not these products are safe to be sold commercially and whether or not further warning labels would be needed on packaging.

Secondly, it should be determined if the formulas or portions they are sold in need to be changed. The primary concerns stem from the massive amount of caffeine and alcohol packed into one can. It could be safer or less objectionable if the beverages were either sold at a lower potency, or in an 12- or even 8-ounce can, as opposed to the current 24-ounce “tall boys” they are almost universally available in.

The biggest issue, however, may be the packaging, which almost exclusively targets young and underage drinkers. The bright-colored cans are almost indistinguishable from non-alcoholic energy drinks until one looks closely to find the alcohol content near the bottom of the can.

Packaging them in colors and fashions more common for beer and liquor, so they are not so blatantly marketed at young people, may help quell dissent as well.

While Four Loko and Sparks are wildly popular drinks and a lucrative corner of the beverage market, as they are available today, they represent the pinnacle of excess in the alcohol market. Alcoholic energy drinks encourage both intense binge-drinking and underage drinking.

The companies that distribute these, not just in Michigan but worldwide, need to consider their responsibility to their customers instead of just their profit margins.