"FDA Bans Caffeine In Alcoholic Beverages?"

you guys with all your smug jokes about them coming to arrest you in your home if you make a mix of alcohol and caffeine yourselves should have read the actual article, they aren't banning you from doing it yourself, they're banning the sales of premixed drinks comprised of caffeine and alcohol, because they've been killing people via heart attacks. They aren't making it illegal for you to do it yourself, fak.

The only reason they are doing this is because of the new drink called Four Loko which has become popular over the past few months. It has the equivalent alcohol of 6 beers and caffeine of 5 cups of coffee. Also, it only costs like 3 dollars for one so it is very cheap. People drink these to pregame and then go out.. however it causes problems because the caffeine makes it possible for one to drink more than usual as you don't pass out when you black out.. so a lot of people/kids end up drinking too much and have had to be hospitalized. Plus the whole stimulant depressant thing.

Originally posted by bloodinbloodout13
you guys with all your smug jokes about them coming to arrest you in your home if you make a mix of alcohol and caffeine yourselves should have read the actual article, they aren't banning you from doing it yourself, they're banning the sales of premixed drinks comprised of caffeine and alcohol, because they've been killing people via heart attacks. They aren't making it illegal for you to do it yourself, fak.

Well obviously. The main reasoning behind the banning of Four Loko is due to the popularity of it and because it's an easy target, considering some folks were MORONIC enough not to drink responsibly.

Originally posted by SaturnFX

Some things the FDA is good for...

Source?

Originally posted by DINSTAAR
This is a war on college drinking. Seriously, the only people who drink Four Loko's are college kids. I know when I have $4 in change on a Friday night, 2 Four Lokos will easily do the trick and then some.

Maybe I will have to revert back to the 40's of Colt 45 on weekends when I have no money. Thank you FDA, you make me want to choke the life out of Disney-like forest creatures.

Now that is some funny stuff right there, your statement literally made me laugh out loud!!!!

I want to interject with my $0.02 now, if I may?! I am NOT a college student, I am solidly within the defines of "adulthood" having three children (two of whom are teenagers), a full time job and numerous responsibilities to handle in my day-to-day! This, in turn, requires tying one on at least one night over the weekend! Due to the economy, hubby and I can no longer afford to buy a case of high priced beer or other such pricey beverages! A friend of ours (also a full fledged "adult") introduced us to Joose about two months ago and we are HUGE fans of this product!! I will be the first to say that the packaging of these Joose/Four Loco products is quite suspect, definately geared towards a younger crowd so to speak, but all the contents which are in dispute in this thread are VERY well labeled on them. There is no hidden agenda at all. So, $10 spent will get both me and hubby to a place of numb but not dumb!

Having said that and referencing DINSTAAR's post, this is an attack on college age drinkers! Kids are going to be kids, they are going to drink in excess because that's what the kids who drink do! Just like the kids that use drugs or guns/weapons! They are still young and do not know their limits, this is how they discover their limits! Yes, kids will die from drinking too much Four Loco/Joose, but this is just how it has always been. People die of alcohol poisoning all the time, they die from drinking and driving, they die of drug overdoses, they die at the hands of their peers who have guns/weapons! It has always been this way and it will always be this way! As long as the youth of mankind think they know everything and "grown-ups" know nothing, we will have this, PERIOD! As the world keeps spinning further out of control and we keep inventing more wonderous and seductive ways to destroy ourselves this problem will exist!!!!

As for the FDA, they are always on the hunt (witch hunt if you will) for ways to regulate what we consume and in what quantities! They want to ensure that we are only being killed slowly and subliminally by what they say we are allowed to! We have given them this power simply by standing by and doing nothing to stop them! I guarantee you that I will not die from consuming a Joose or two on Saturday night, BUT I can not guarantee that I will not die from the Pepsi MAX, hot dogs, snack cakes, potato chips, "steam-in-bag veggies" or flouridated water which they have approved for mass consumption!

Its hard to blame them for doing something.. 6beers and 5coffees in one easily drinkable can is bad news.. and kids these days are basically out trying to make bad decisions on purpose. I'd bet you tomorrow night, instead of going shot for shot, 2 kids somewhere will be competing four loko for four loko...As long as you can still get a rum and coke at the bar I don't see what the big deal is.

Originally posted by bloodinbloodout13
you guys with all your smug jokes about them coming to arrest you in your home if you make a mix of alcohol and caffeine yourselves should have read the actual article, they aren't banning you from doing it yourself, they're banning the sales of premixed drinks comprised of caffeine and alcohol, because they've been killing people via heart attacks. They aren't making it illegal for you to do it yourself, fak.

Logically, that makes no sense.

If it is illegal to sell a pre-mixed drink, it should logically follow that it is illegal to make your own.

Who mixes the drink seems fairly irrelevant.

Of course, nothing about government or its decrees is logical, rational, or non-violent in nature.

As a college student and member of a fraternity, all i have to say is that people get ridiculous off of sparks and four lokos, myself included for one time only. I think this decision is in the people's best interest. Everyone on campus can agree that its probably not the best thing for one's health and wasn't surprised that they are being phased out. Can't help but be amused when I see black-out drunks buying it up while they still can

Originally posted by jpm06002
Its hard to blame them for doing something.. 6beers and 5coffees in one easily drinkable can is bad news.. and kids these days are basically out trying to make bad decisions on purpose. I'd bet you tomorrow night, instead of going shot for shot, 2 kids somewhere will be competing four loko for four loko...As long as you can still get a rum and coke at the bar I don't see what the big deal is.

edit on 17-11-2010 by jpm06002 because: (no reason given)

The big deal is ultimately the measure is ineffective and unnecessary. kids will smoke a cat if they think it will get them high...you can't keep banning stuff "for the children", else there will be nothing left for the adults eventually.

The drink is crap, and clearly a health risk...but so is a bottle of whiskey on its own, or coffee in excess..I don't need the government telling me what some industry can put in a can so long as it is legal and clearly written. its just a clear stomping on us...accept this and you accept the government deciding for you what you can and cannot drink/eat and in what portions.

now, OPs has a flare for the dramatic...and usually his posts are simply crap..but once in awhile he does make a point...this is a consumer issue, not a federal issue...they need to get back to trying to make sure no bug feces are in my milk and lay off the rum and coke in a can type stuff.

-add: I would support a small warning on the can quickly stating the problem with mixing the two...heart issues and bad hangovers

reply to post by mnemeth1


If you want to mix alcohol and caffeine, then just buy some of each and do it! No one is stopping you. The government is not making caffeine illegal

The primary ingredients in crystal meth are available at any general store. Are you proposing that the totalitarian regime is limiting our access to cough medication because they don't allow crystal meth to be sold over the counter? Your argument is flawed.

Originally posted by mnemeth1

Originally posted by bloodinbloodout13
you guys with all your smug jokes about them coming to arrest you in your home if you make a mix of alcohol and caffeine yourselves should have read the actual article, they aren't banning you from doing it yourself, they're banning the sales of premixed drinks comprised of caffeine and alcohol, because they've been killing people via heart attacks. They aren't making it illegal for you to do it yourself, fak.

Logically, that makes no sense.

If it is illegal to sell a pre-mixed drink, it should logically follow that it is illegal to make your own.

Who mixes the drink seems fairly irrelevant.

Of course, nothing about government or its decrees is logical, rational, or non-violent in nature.

I know what you are saying.. but before four loko.. the only thing that came close intensity wise was mixing red bull and vodka.. which is more expensive to do than a 2 dollar can of four loko and you probably consumed less caffeine. because four loko is so cheap.. a tonnnnn of people/college kids are drinking it. Assuming four loko IS banned.. it's not like all those people who were drinking them are going to go right to mixing red bulls and vodka. A lot of them probably won't bother with any caffeine product.. besides a simple coca cola or some soda as a chaser.

Originally posted by mnemeth1

Originally posted by susp3kt
They're proposing banning caffeine/alcohol beverages and not caffeine itself.

You might want to reword your post title.

No, they are declaring it an unsafe food additive.

Hence, they are banning its use in the free market.

Producers can not freely chose how to employ it in their products.

edit on 16-11-2010 by mnemeth1 because: (no reason given)

Wrong. They're banning a drink that consists of a combination of caffeine and alcohol. They are NOT banning caffeine. If they were banning caffeine as a "food additive," then Pepsi would illegal. As I stated before, Ephedrine is not illegal but when combined with other easily found chemicals, it becomes crystal meth.

My opinion

Lets ban banning stuff LOL.

Some more nany state crap being forced upon everyone, apparently the Government thinks were all a bunch of iditos and cannot make decisions for ourselves.

Originally posted by DiabolusFireDragon

Just like caffeine and alcohol don't mix, neither do old people and bathrooms. Clearly, with the FDA's line of thinking, we should ban old people from bathrooms.

What? That makes absolutely no sense. I honestly don't think you're qualified or experienced enough to use the phrase "line of thinking." I've never heard of some stupid teens overdosing on the oder emanating from a bathroom stall. You need to investigate the meaning of the word analogy. You're just not getting it.

They want us drunk and stupid, not drunk and AWAKE.

For some weird reason, the combination of nicotine, caffeine and alcohol taken at the same time seems to be a common thread with people who THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX which is what "they" don't want you to do. Is it just me, or does Russia and other countries seem "freeer" than our own country? Did not a young boy get reprimanded for having an AMERICAN flag on his bike this week? Did not kids get reprimanded for operating an unlicensed bakery stand this week? Weren't a few kids suspended for wearing T-shirts with the US Flag on them last Cinco de Mayo? Is this the United States of America?

DISCLAIMER: I am a staunch PATRIOT. How can these things equate to the U S of A? I'm just stunned that someone actually felt EMPOWERED by somebody to tell a kid he can't have the Flag on his bike?

Originally posted by GhostLancer
They want us drunk and stupid, not drunk and AWAKE.

For some weird reason, the combination of nicotine, caffeine and alcohol taken at the same time seems to be a common thread with people who THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX which is what "they" don't want you to do.

Says who? How does dangerous binge drinking equate to thinking outside the box?

Originally posted by GhostLancer
Is it just me, or does Russia and other countries seem "freeer" than our own country? Did not a young boy get reprimanded for having an AMERICAN flag on his bike this week? Did not kids get reprimanded for operating an unlicensed bakery stand this week? Weren't a few kids suspended for wearing T-shirts with the US Flag on them last Cinco de Mayo? Is this the United States of America?

DISCLAIMER: I am a staunch PATRIOT. How can these things equate to the U S of A? I'm just stunned that someone actually felt EMPOWERED by somebody to tell a kid he can't have the Flag on his bike?

You're not even sticking to the topic of this thread - your just rambling on about other news. You're trying to establish the fallacy of guilt by association and overgeneralizing anecdotes as being applicable to the conditions in most if not all places in the United State. You draw lines between these isolated and individuals events in order manufacture a larger conspiracy that does not exist.

God forbid some low-level government employee screws up - you'll claim that the entire government is responsible for his actions. You also failed to mention that these incidents were resolved. If the government were actually trying to suppress our freedoms, why would they return to the status quo.

Thank Jeeeeebus I'm sick of pickin up four loco for the girls now they gotta drink colt 45 like the rest of us hahaha

Originally posted by theUNKNOWNawaits

Originally posted by The Sword
reply to post by thisguyrighthere

 

I don't understand your liberal use of the word "idiot" but I do understand the risks that such drinks pose. Again, it all comes down to responsible usage. If more of these "idiots" would use discretion and NOT overdo such drinks, there would not be a call for a ban, etc.

It's when these "idiots" do stupid things and harm themselves or others, that the people, i:e-the government, must crack down on them.

I do agree with you totally here though.

The question is do we want a "nanny state" that tells you what to do and how to live? How far do we want them involved in our lives?

Originally posted by mnemeth1

Originally posted by GTOWarrior
I actually think this is a good idea. Young people cannot discern or control drinking habits as much as an experienced drinker. Therefore, because of the risk of mixing alcohol and caffeine and the effects it has on the body physically, it is in the best interests of the general public. No different than adding coc aine to beer. It is a dangerous combo, and can cause heart problems, and caffeine overdose. As for adding it to other foods, I am not sure of the reason of banning that.

I think its a good idea for me to run your life.

Will you please run mine too, I havent a clue as to whats right or wrong either,
We have successfully replaced survival of the fittest, hail the idiot overlords is right.