Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverage Creates Controversy

I has only four ingredients: alcohol, caffeine, guarana and taurine. It comes in a multitude of flavors, and it’s now under fire by critics.

Four Loko is an alcoholic energy drink that was created by Ohio State graduates, Chris Hunter, Jason Freeman and Jeff Wright. Inspired by their time in school, they decided to fill what they felt was a niche area in the energy drink market reports The Columbus Dispatch.

The trio, who met while studying at Ohio State, formed Phusion Projects LLC and started selling 23.5-ounce malt beverages on convenience-store shelves near campuses. Four Loko costs $2.50 a can.

“We found an opportunity that wasn’t really being filled,” said Hunter, originally from Youngstown.

But critics say that Four Loko – which contains 12 percent alcohol and as much caffeine as a 12-ounce coffee – are dangerous because they keep drunks awake and engaging in riskier behavior longer.

Rob McKenna, the attorney general in Washington state, said all states should ban the products. McKenna is leading the call after a report this week determined that nine Central Washington University freshmen were hospitalized after mixing Four Loko with more alcohol.

The founders of Chicago-based Phusion released a statement yesterday saying they support the goal of making college campuses safe but “know that curbing alcohol abuse on college campuses will not be accomplished by singling out a lone product or beverage category.”

Image from Four

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