COLUMN: Four Loko should not be banned; responsibility rests with drinkers

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The fate of Four Loko has been a hot-button topic among college students for several weeks now, and that is not about to stop.

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration told Four Loko parent company Phusion Projects and three other companies that “caffeine added to their malt alcoholic beverages is an ‘unsafe food additive’ and … that further action, including seizure of their products, is possible under federal law.”

In response, Phusion said they will remove caffeine and other stimulants from their products.

The banning of these drinks was unnecessary and a result of misrepresentation by the media as well as opponents of the drinks.

This comes as a move praised by many, including Senator Chuck Schumer (D, N.Y.) who called the drinks “dangerous and toxic,” claiming that they have led to hospitalizations and even death.

Opponents of the popular drinks have targeted Four Loko, claiming it is unsafe because of an unhealthy mix of alcohol and caffeine — that it contains the alcoholic content of five to six beers and as much as two to three coffee-cups worth of caffeine.

Critics used statistics for alcoholic content of beer to their favor. A 23.5 ounce can of Four Loko has a 12 percent alcohol content, giving it 2.82 ounces of alcohol, while most common beers have between 4.7 to 5.0 percent alcoholic content, or 0.5 to 0.6 ounces, meaning a can of Four Loko is truly only equal to around 5 cans of beer.

When the caffeine content is examined, it becomes clear that critics consistently used low estimates of caffeine content in coffee. Average content ranges from 80-150 milligrams in an eight ounce cup, while Four Loko has 156 milligrams, according to ABC News. At most, this means Four Loko has the caffeine equivalent of one-and-a-half to two cups of coffee.

Reports of people who have died after drinking Four Loko have surfaced; however, not one case has been reported in the media where just one can of Four Loko led to a death.

On their own, alcohol and caffeine are both dangerous when consumed in excess, and Four Loko, like any alcoholic beverage should only be consumed responsibly. Similarly, alcohol should never be mixed with diet pills, as was the case in one death blamed on Four Loko.

Instead of punishing companies for making these products, young adults should simply be encouraged to drink more responsibly.

If the government truly believed the combination of caffeine and alcohol is so dangerous, it would be taking steps to ban mixed drinks such as Jager bombs, a mixture of Jagermeister and Red Bull.

Phusion should have taken steps to avoid this, such as offer the drink in 12-ounce cans, so that people are not encouraged to drink so much, but ultimately, the burden to be responsible lies on those who are drinking.

If you cannot be responsible when you drink, you simply should not drink, and punishing companies for people’s irresponsibility is unacceptable.