No more 4 loko....

[Guest3498]

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/201...-pressure-maker-of-four-loko-to-drop-caffeine

I never had a chance to try this stuff. It's gross I'm sure, but why the hell is it being banned? Binge drinking? Pretty sure kids will do that regardless... Caffeine and alcohol together? People have been mixing drinks with redbull since redbull first came out.... I doubt that will change... What gives?

 

[Guest3498]

The mixologists over at Phusion Projects, the maker of the controversial caffeine-boosted, alcohol-rich drink Four Loko, are cutting the stimulants from their list of ingredients.

It's an apparent pre-emptive PR strike as the Food and Drug Administration reportedly prepares to take regulatory action against the entire class of beverages that combine copious amounts of alcohol and caffeine.

Phusion Projects said late Tuesday it would change the formula for Four Loko to eliminate caffeine, guarana and taurine. Will the company also change the name?


"Formerly Loko" might work. Or maybe "One Loko"? In case you didn't know, the "four" in Four Loko comes from its key ingredients: alcohol, caffeine, guarana (a South American plant whose seeds are rich in caffeine) and taurine (an amino acid that some people think, despite mixed evidence, can boost mental and athletic performance).

Several states and colleges have moved to ban the drinks, amid mounting reports of hospitalizations and deaths among young people who allegedly consumed the drinks, sometimes called "blackout in a can."

The FDA has been mulling what do to about the drinks for more than a year. New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer stole some of the agency's thunder with a release Tuesday that said the agency is expected to "effectively ban" by ruling that caffeine is an "unsafe food additive" for drinks containing alcohol.

In a joint statement, the three co-founders of Phusion Projects, college buddies at Ohio State University said:

We are taking this step after trying — unsuccessfully — to navigate a difficult and politically-charged regulatory environment at both the state and federal levels.

They defended their products as no different really than a rum and Coke or Irish coffee. And they invoked the decision by another federal agency, the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to allow the sale of Four Loko and other Phusion drinks as evidence the their drinks are OK.

Update: The FDA dropped four warning letters on big makers of the caffeinated malt beverages saying that caffeine is warned four companies that the caffeine put in their drinks constitutes "unsafe food additive." The Federal Trade Commission got in on the action, too. In four letters to the same companies, the FTC "warned that marketing of such beverages may constitute an unfair or deceptive practice" that breaks the law.

 

[GET MO]

Haha! man I usedta get FUCKED UP off these drinks. 2 of these is all you need to getchou on. This and JOOSE were 2 of my favorites before I quit drinkin. Get the blue one. Careful cuz they creep up on u...

 

[Noobian]

Yeah don't think anyone is gonna be getting the blue one anymore since they are discontinuing the brand as it now stands. This is much ado about nothing as usual. Couple "suburban" college students got sick and now it's banned across several states and completely reformulated in the others. It's pathetic to me and just more of this reactionary let's regulate everything on Earth mentality we have in our culture nowadays.

 

[InvisibleEmpire]

i'll stick with weed.

rather not throw a bunch of chemicals mixed together at my liver...especially alcohol and caffeine..

 

[bentom187]

lol at the hypocrits ..... alcahol that kills or caffine and alcahol that kills..... only the moron politicians would try to make a arguing point about this.

so ya know this is deffinatley polotics under the veil of public saftey.

 

[InvisibleEmpire]

lol at the hypocrits ..... alcahol that kills or caffine and alcahol that kills..... only the moron politicians would try to make a arguing point about this.

so ya know this is deffinatley polotics under the veil of public saftey.

no, i don't think it is to be honest. i think it's typical of the FDA...4 loko blew up almost overnight due to the news article about those college kids getting sick, when people realized how strong it was and how available it is...it blew up...hyped...and the FDA honed in...anyone with a general understanding of alcohol and/or alcohol when mixed with other substances can conclude that the drinks aren't safe by any means....with alcohol you can judge your intake - IE, 1 beer...1 shot...versus 5 beers, 5 shots...you can't do that with the type of drink 4loko is. It's kinda like "be careful...drink...wait...black out"

 

[rocky5]

what about the one that got banned for traces of cocaine in it?
im sure it was the German version of Red Bull or something
but how do they manage to get traces of cocaine in it?

 

[RugerBaby]

these dumb rich kids always messing things up!

 

[bentom187]

well if your right and theres somthing trully MORE dangerous,then i would agree with there argument.i could say that alot of people could do the same thing though, with jim beam or the likes drink...wait....blackout.

 

[250wscrogger]

red bull + 100 proof vodka will get you even more blasted.....

Probably not the best idea to mix stimulants (caffine) with depressants (alcohol) but if you don't get carried away you'll be fine....there will always be those people who just don't realise when enough is enough.........you know the ones.......

 

[Yes4Prop215]

^yea definately...the guys who are piss drunk but still reach for another bottle...idiots.

i had a 4loko last night...shit was nasty. never gonna drink one again...i barely finished half the can before i had to stop and switch to beer.

 

[Calimed]

Funny how they banned these drinks from adults 21+ when the kids were underage.

If u can get past how nasty these drinks taste, u deserve to get drunk!

 

[eddie.saw]

this shit was big with some people that i went to highschool with that were a few years younger than me, i tried one, it tasted like rotten asshole, not that i would know what that tastes like or anything, but on the rare occasion i do drink, i'll stick with beer and whiskey.

 

[Acotaco]

I heard you die once you reach 24 loko

 

[Stoner4Life]

first of all drinking ought have nothing to do with age imo, you should need to pass an IQ test to determine your eligibility.

then shit like this wouldn't even have a chance to catch on.

 

[RugerBaby]

what ever happened to good ol' cocaine and beer? lol

 

[rasputin]

much ado about nothing, vado. my boy drinks these like they're going out of style, and i guess soon they will be so drink up, johnny!

i tried one a few years ago before they started being sold as individual cans. imagine the shit fit they'd have if they still only came in 4 packs. it tasted terrible and i'm not a big drinker anyway so i didn't care for em. but banning them/reformulating is just silly.

 

[ZoSo]

I don't think they should be regulating these but at least it makes more sense than going after high-alcohol craft beers.

Mass amounts of caffeine + tons of alcohol = bad idea in my book. People should be free to kill themselves if they want to though. Problem is most young people have an illusion of invincibility or just plain don't know any better.

But that's where Darwin comes in...

 

[lockehead]

I read that one can contains nearly 700 calories. I bet its from all that sugar or HFCS they put in there to cover up the shitty taste