Four Loko, a popular alcoholic energy drink, has recently become a target of attack as numerous college campuses across the United States question the controversial substance’s safety; a few have even gone so far as to ban the product altogether.
Four Loko, which Urban Dictionary defines as “legalized cocaine” or “blackout in a can,” has become a staple at many college parties.
Recently, nine college students enrolled in Central Washington University in Ellenburg, Wash. were hospitalized after ingesting the highly caffeinated alcoholic beverage. Authorities had initially believed the students’ intoxication to be the result of date rape drugs, but it was later discovered that the students had consumed an excessive amount of Four Loko; reports of similar hospitalizations have cropped up around the country. Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J. banned the beverage after 23 people were hospitalized for alcohol intoxication at the beginning of the fall semester.
Four Loko has 660 calories per 23.5 ounces and as much caffeine as a 12-ounce Red Bull. According to information distributed by Geneseo Healthguards, it delivers as much alcohol as five shots of hard liquor or a six-pack of light beer. Four Loko masks the effects of intoxication, the information said, but does not lessen them. Users apparently feel less intoxicated than with other types of alcohol, leading them to continue drinking even after they are inebriated.
The combination of caffeine and alcohol has not yet been fully evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, but the organization has charged producers of caffeinated booze with producing evidence that the combination is safe. On its website, the FDA identifies 28 such producers.
“It’s not the same as drinking a beer,” said senior Stephen Carey. “It’s like drinking something that’s 12 percent alcohol. There is always the risk if you’re pounding it – because it comes in a can – that you’ll end up on your face … it’s a quick and dirty way to get drunk.”
A female freshman who asked for anonymity because of her age said she recalled feeling her heart rate increase and throwing up after consuming Four Loko. “That experience definitely turned me off from them,” she said. “They don’t seem safe at all.”
Independent investigations have shown that the consumption of alcoholic energy drinks like Four Loko correlates with higher rates of alcohol-related injury and risky behavior, said seniors Anna McDonough and Emily Alvo, the Healthguard program co-coordinators.
A number of lawmakers have taken notice of this beverage, spurring a movement to ban Four Loko in the United States. If the FDA finds that the drinks are not “generally recognized as safe,” it has the authority to remove it from shelves. Neither Wegmans or Walmart sell Four Loko in Geneseo, but it is available at several mini-marts and at many supermarkets nationwide.
On the Geneseo campus, the Healthguards are working to educate students about the dangers of Four Loko, the program’s co-coordinators said. Healthguards is a student group that works with the Lauderdale Health and Counseling Center and helps to educate other students about health topics that are relevant to college students.
“The office of Health Promotion is currently focusing on ways to educate our community about the dangers of Four Loko and similar drinks. We sincerely hope that if Geneseo students choose to drink alcohol, they will make responsible decisions and consider their health and well-being above all else,” Alvo and McDonough said.