| Parents being warned of look-alike alcohol energy drinks: youth may be target |
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Caffeine-based energy drinks such as Rock Star, Sparks and Tilt have been a hit with young people for several years, but a new wrinkle has officials, prevention groups and parents worried – alcohol-based energy drinks in similar-looking containers that may become the latest alcohol craze for minors.
According to the Marin Institute, 31 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds and 34 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds regularly consume energy beverages. Producers of alcohol energy drinks are capitalizing on this popularity in their marketing strategies – including using look-alike cans, says the Institute. For instance, the Rock Star brand has both non-alcohol and alcohol-based energy drinks in cans which are very similar in appearance.
With guidance from Executive Director Steve Pharo and Enforcement and Field Operations Director Linda Ignowski, the OLCC is approaching this problem on several levels. We will be alerting licensees and parents through a public information campaign to help ensure that these alcohol energy drinks aren’t winding up in the wrong hands. Also, our minor decoys will be taking these alcohol energy drinks to the counter during routine compliance checks – to see if clerks are checking ID on these products.
“Alcohol energy beverages are legal for adults, but some of the packaging can be confusing and that’s what bothers us,” Pharo said. “Parents can’t easily tell the difference between regular and alcohol energy drinks, and some store clerks have even placed the products alongside their non-alcoholic counterparts.”
Problem illustrated
This was demonstrated recently when an OLCC inspector counted nine different energy drinks in the beer cooler of a Portland-area convenience store, with alcohol content ranging from six to eight percent.
“The cans closely resemble the typical energy drink cans,” he said. “An employee told me he had mistakenly inventoried the drinks as (non-alcohol) energy drinks. This means they didn't ring up as alcohol at the cash register. Consequently, the age verification equipment software didn't ask the cashier to input a date of birth at time of purchase.”
There are also health concerns about young people and the high doses of caffeine bringing on anxiety and panic attacks, increasing blood pressure – and masking the intoxicating effects of alcohol, which may increase risk-taking.
Examples of some brands containing alcohol:
Sparks (8.0% alc.)
Sparks Plus (7.0% alc.)
Sparks Light (8.0% alc.)
Tilt (8.0% alc.)
Tilt Light (6.6% alc.)
Liquid Core (6.9% alc.)
Liquid Charge (6.9% alc.)
Rock Star 21: green label (6.0% alc.)
Rock Star 21: yellow label (6.0% alc.)
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