Want to pull an all-nighter... with alcohol? As of midnight, it will be too late to do that with the Four Loko we all know—or have read about.
Phusion Projects, the maker of the beverage making headlines all over, especially on college campuses, announced Nov. 16 they were removing the caffeine, guarana and taurine from their drink recipe.
The consumption of the beverage caused several controversial incidents in which students were hospitalized for alcohol poisoning.
The buzz has hit college students everywhere across the county.
In case you missed it, here are some quotes from the frenzy of coverage the drink, and those like it, have received.
From the Daily Tar Heel, the newspaper of our friendly powder-blue neighbor down the road:
“If you’re too stupid to realize you can’t pound four 12 percent beers in 20 minutes … you deserve what you get.” -Andy Dobson, beer manager of TJ’s Beverage and Tobacco.
From The Harvard Crimson's story, "Four Loko Will Go Caffeine-Free":
“This ruling should be the nail in the coffin of these dangerous and toxic drinks. Parents should be able to rest a little easier knowing that soon their children won’t have access to this deadly brew.” - New York Senator Charles E. Schumer
"Its name is veiled in mystique, and is quickly becoming a part of the vernacular of the young folks at Yale, in the concrete jungle where dreams are made of there’s nothing you can’t do and even in the sprawl. At Wesleyan University, students rate parties and other cool things based on how “loko” they are. An pretty all right party earns two or maybe three loko, whereas the most out-of-control can score up to 12 loko, said Chase Niesner ’13, who observed his unsavory friends slurp down the nasty nectar last weekend during a visit."
I will bet you a round of drinks that whether or not Four Loko is pulled from every single refrigerator shelf by Friday night, there will be plenty of caffeine-with-alcohol drinking by college kids - and however many teenagers manage to get their hands on alcohol - this weekend. -Elie Mystal, NY Daily News writer
From a statement released by the makers of the drinks Nov. 16:
"We have repeatedly contended – and still believe, as do many people throughout the country – that the combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe. If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced...We are taking this step after trying – unsuccessfully – to navigate a difficult and politically-charged regulatory environment at both the state and federal levels." - Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright and Jaisen Freeman, Phusion co-founders
Is the drink being deemed "black out in a can" really that dangerous? Or is the negative hype just killing a good buzz?
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