A new wave of hysteria is sweeping the nation. The target this time: Four Loko and other caffeinated alcoholic beverages like it. According to a Web page set up by Brown Health Services, one Four Loko contains as much alcohol as a six-pack of beer and as much caffeine as four sodas. Unlike these other things, though, it costs about $3.
Some have expressed concern about drinks mixing alcohol and caffeine for quite some time, though the movement to ban them didn't pick up steam until several highly publicized incidents of students blacking out and requiring hospitalization dramatized the drinks' negative effects. Of course, plain alcohol causes this kind of behavior all across the nation every weekend, but the cheapness and novelty of drinks like Four Loko have conspired to create a new moral panic.
Several states, including Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Washington have already banned the sale of drinks like Four Loko. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration proclaimed that such drinks "present a public health concern" and warned manufacturers that the federal government might begin seizing their products if they didn't stop mixing caffeine and alcohol.
Two weeks ago, The Herald reported that Rhode Island would consider following these states' lead when the General Assembly reconvenes in January. Several key lawmakers, including state Sen. Rhoda Perry P'91, D-Providence, whose district includes Brown, remain undecided. We hope they decide not to add Rhode Island to the list of states that have taken hasty action against these drinks.
We are in no position to disagree with the FDA or the state liquor agencies about the potential dangers of alcoholic energy drinks. When used improperly or to excess, they undoubtedly pose a "public health concern." But so do cigarettes, mixed drinks, Big Macs, guns and countless other products that remain readily available.
Even if the goal is to prevent college students and others from abusing drinks like Four Loko, the effort is doomed to fail. As many have pointed out, both caffeine and alcohol are readily available to students, and singling out products like Four Loko won't ensure they're not mixed. Rather, as with other banned items, prohibition has popularized the practice and will force the use of even less safe, makeshift alternatives.
In the end, state-by-state bans on caffeinated energy drinks, or federal efforts to strong-arm the drinks' manufacturers into fundamentally changing their product, are misguided. Every time a common product is suddenly swept from the shelves because some few abused it, the legitimacy of other laws prohibiting the use of potentially dangerous products is undermined.
The attack on Four Loko is but one front in the battle against youth intoxication. We support sensible efforts to cut back on the hospitalizations and deaths that result from irresponsible drinking, but heavy-handed prohibition is counterproductive and unwelcome. We would prefer to see a clear-headed solution to the problems that drinks like Four Loko have highlighted. But the drinks themselves are not the cause of these problems. Lawmakers should reject ill-conceived attempts to single them out.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials (at) browndailyherald.com.
