Massachusetts bans Four Loko

On Nov. 18, Massachusetts became the fifth state—following Washington, Michigan, Utah and Oklahoma—to ban the sale of Four Loko and similar caffeinated alcoholic beverages. While the ban was set forth due to rising public health concern over the beverage, pulling Four Loko off the shelves has caused many Wellesley students—and not just those who are loco for Four Loko—to question whether or not such an action is justified.

Four Loko and similar caffeinated alcoholic beverages first came under intense, nation-wide scrutiny earlier this fall after several students at Central Washington University in Washington and Ramapo College in New Jersey were hospitalized for excessive consumption of Four Loko that led to severe alcohol poisoning.  

The main criticism against Four Loko and other related alcoholic beverages stems from the fear that caffeine and other stimulants may mask the effects of alcohol, causing a consumer to underestimate his or her level of intoxication and drink more than he or she would otherwise.  

"It's dangerous because the caffeine makes it so that people don't feel the effect of the alcohol as much until it's too late," JiHee Hyung '13 said.

While the combination of stimulants and alcohol is nothing new, many critics of Four Loko argue that the fruity beverage poses unprecedented threats to consumers who may not be aware of the unhealthy side effects of such a combination.  According to NPR, Four Loko has as much alcohol as a bottle of wine and as much caffeine as a six-pack of Diet Coke.  In particular, many critics point to the idea that marketing Four Loko as a malt beverage is misleading to consumers.

"Selling Four Loko raises a lot of public health concerns because it encourages people to mix alcohol with stimulants," Haley Bertram '13 said. "A lot of people may buy the drink without knowing that the alcohol-stimulant combination is a dangerous one."

Critics of Four Loko also argue that the beverage seems to specifically target college-aged students.

"I think a lot of college students are attracted to it because it's so cheap and has so much alcohol," Laura Chilson '11 said about Four Loko, which generally sells for about $2.50 to $3.00 per can.

"The fruity flavors and colorful packaging make it more appealing to underage and college-age drinkers," Aliya Nurani '13 said.

Despite the backlash, the Chicago-based company that makes Four Loko, Phushion Projects, has released several public statements that maintain that the beverage is not inherently dangerous.

"We have repeatedly contended—and still believe, as do many people throughout the country—that the combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe," said Jaisen Freeman, one of the three cofounders of Phusion Projects, in a statement released on Nov. 16.  "If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced."

While Phusion Projects continues to assert that Four Loko is safe, the beverage company is now reluctantly reformulating their product so that it will no longer contain caffeine and other stimulants such as taurine and guarana.

"We are taking this step after trying– unsuccessfully—to navigate a difficult and politically-charged regulatory environment at both the state and federal levels," Freeman said in the Nov. 16 statement.

The move to eliminate stimulants such as caffeine from the Four Loko formula coincides with recent speculation that the Food and Drug Administration is planning to issue a nation-wide ruling effectively banning alcoholic drinks infused with caffeine.

While this ruling has yet to be confirmed, many states are in fact following suit with the Massachusetts ban. According to a New York Times article published on Nov. 14, Governor David A. Paterson and the State Liquor Authority have declared that certain New York vendors of Four Loko and similar alcoholic beverages "will have until Dec. 10 to clear their inventory of the product," while grocery stores will have a "longer, unspecified grace period" to get rid of the product.

While many people recognize the need to limit the consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages, many also believe that banning drinks such as Four Loko will do little to help this cause.

"I can understand that it's been causing a lot of problems lately, but the banning of Four Loko is not a solution to bad college behavior," Katy Glouchevitch '13 said. "What we need instead is more education and open dialogue about the harms of mixing alcohol with stimulants."

Glouchevitch also stated that the ban may actually result in more people wanting to drink Four Loko. "The second you start to ban something, it becomes more attractive," she said. "The slow spread of the ban has actually promoted it. We now have this Four Loko black market in Massachusetts. People are buying cans of Four Loko for five times what they used to cost, and that's all because the ban has made the drink more appealing."

Other critics of the ban point to its overall ineffectiveness, especially because people can still mix alcohol with energy drinks on their own.

"I think the only solution is for people to be more responsible," Evgenia Nizkorodov '13 said. "We don't ban vodka and we don't ban Red Bull, so why should we ban Four Loko?"