(Reuters) - Washington state's Liquor Control Board has voted to ban sales of high-alcohol energy drinks, widely known as "blackout in a can," following the hospitalization of nine students in the state last month. Washington is the second state to outlaw the new crop of highly caffeinated, heavy-alcohol beverages popular with young people after Michigan banned them earlier this month.
The emergency ban will last for 120 days after November 17, while the board goes through the procedure of introducing a permanent ban.
Major brewers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller stopped making drinks mixing alcohol and caffeine after pressure from various states, but smaller companies have filled the gap in the market.
In October, nine Central Washington University students were hospitalized after drinking quantities of Four Loko brand drinks and similar beverages off-campus. According to the university, the blood-alcohol level of the students ranged from .123 to .35 -- where .30 is considered lethal.
Four Loko -- a highly sugared, caffeinated malt liquor made by Phusion Projects -- is 12 percent alcohol. That means one 23.5-ounce can is comparable to drinking five or six beers.
Health experts say that caffeine suspends the effects of alcohol, allowing people to continue drinking long after they normally would have stopped.
The ban means caffeine-alcohol drinks cannot be sold in grocery stores in the state starting next week. Washington state liquor stores do not carry them.
Phusion Projects said it was "disappointed by recent calls to ban our products," but did not threaten to directly challenge the latest measure.
"While we don't agree that caffeine and alcohol are unsafe, we do appreciate any state's concern for its citizens. We want to open a dialogue to discuss specific concerns and try to reach solutions," the company said in an emailed statement.
Mainstream companies have withdrawn similar products in the last few years, under threats of legal action by states.
Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser beer, agreed in 2008 to take caffeine out of energy drinks that contain alcohol, such as its Tilt product, after 11 state attorneys general charged the brewer was marketing them to underage drinkers.
The same year MillerCoors, a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing Co, agreed to remove caffeine from its Sparks energy-alcohol drink.
Poster Comment:
Elections just wouldn't be the same, without blackout voters. No doubt the watermelons* will get by with the old standards, pot and crystal meth.
*Green on the outside, pinko on the inside
