Big Red, Bloomington Liquors pull ‘blackout in a can’ from its shelves

Four Loko and Joose, alcoholic energy drinks that have been responsible for hospitalizations of college students throughout the country, have been voluntarily removed from the shelves of some Bloomington-based liquor stores.

As a precaution until a decision is made, locally-based Big Red Liquors and Bloomington Liquors have announced they will no longer stock or sell these alcoholic energy drinks.

“It’s generally consumed by fairly young drinkers who may not know exactly what they’re buying or its effect,” said Wade Shanower, president of Big Red Liquors.
“The effect can be significant.”

Most of the concern stems from the potential negative effects that can come from combining large amounts of caffeine — or similar substances like guarana — with large quantities of alcohol.

“According to state regulators, a typical alcohol energy drink is 24 ounces and has a 12 percent alcohol content,” stated a press release announcing Big Red Liquors and Bloomington Liquors’ decision to end sales of the product.

The caffeine in alcoholic energy drinks has the potential to mask the alcohol’s depressant effect, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This could lead to impairment without a drinker realizing it.

Though caffeine disguises the feelings associated with a slower metabolism, which can be caused by alcohol, it does nothing to speed up the liver’s metabolizing
processes.

Therefore, the impairment effects of alcohol occur just as they would in any other circumstance.

“They’re just a quick way to get drunk,” said John Livengood, president of the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers. “And they’re cheap.”

Phusion Projects, the makers of Four Loko, released a statement in response to these concerns.

People have been mixing alcohol and caffeine for a long time, according to the release. It compared Four Loko to drinking rum and Coke or Red Bull and Vodka.

“The difference there — with Red Bull and Vodka — is that you’re choosing how to mix them,” Shanower said. “These are prepackaged and quite cheap.”

But Phusion Projects said in a statement it feels secure that its products are no more dangerous than other alcoholic beverages when consumed responsibly.

“We are committed to working with all interested parties to address our shared concerns and to answer questions regarding the safety of the products,” Phusion Projects’ statement said.

The other factor that contributed to the decision was the target market for alcoholic energy drinks: young drinkers, Shanower said.

There’s a danger with people accustomed to alcohol-free energy drinks expecting a similar effect from the alcoholic variety, Livengood said.

Several states have already banned the sale of the drinks with high alcohol and caffeine content, and state attorneys general have written to the FDA to express
their concerns.

“We believe the use of caffeine (and other stimulants that are metabolized as caffeine) as an additive to alcohol is not Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulations,” a letter from the attorneys general of Utah, Connecticut and Guam said.

Locally, the decision to pull this type of drink — which includes more than 40 products, according to the FDA — coincided with a similar recommendation from
the IABR.

“We want to be a good member in good standing in our state association,” said Gene Laughman, owner of Bloomington Liquors and Hoosier Liquors.

He said the decision for cooperation between his stores and Big Red was because both felt it was a responsible decision and because of the statewide recommendations coming from the IABR.

“It was the responsible thing to do,” Livengood said. “Some members were worried the product was dangerous.”

As a result, the IABR executive board held a conference call, and the members present voted unanimously to recommend removing alcoholic energy drinks from shelves, Livengood said.

He said the product ought to be banned in Indiana like it has been in Michigan.
“The reaction from members has been positive,” he said. “It was more important to be responsible than to make a buck.”

Though the drinks are a popular purchase among college-aged students, Shanower and Laughman said they are confident in their other sales.

“It’ll definitely impact our sales, but I think those customers will move to something else,” Laughman said.

Shanower said he has sold “immense quantities of it.”

Despite a lack of outcry from the public at large, some students remain skeptical of the drinks’ removal from liquor stores.

“I don’t understand why liquor stores have a problem with it or how it’s going to stop it,” IU junior Rachel Hidde said.

Sophomore Luke McLeese said liquor stores should still be able to sell alcoholic energy drinks.

“You just have to control your liquor,” he said. “They should still be able to sell it. It’s the responsibility of the drinker.”