November 6th, 2010

Four Loko banned in Michigan. The Great Lakes State has become the first to outright ban Four Loko until the FDA can draw conclusions about the safety of mixing alcohol with caffeine.  Four Loko has drawn a lot of criticism after college students had to go to the emergency room after consuming the beverage.

The problem isn’t within the beverage itself per se, it’s the effects that adding caffeine to alcohol has on someone when they are out drinking.  The caffeine keeps you alert and helps you to drink more than you otherwise would have drunk.  This, in turn, could lead to an increased risk of alcohol poisoning.

The 24 oz beverage is the equivalent of drinking 5 or 6 beers, and several cups of coffee. The alcohol content within the beverage is 12%.

The drink is favored by college students because it’s cheap and tastes a lot like an energy drink.  Sure, people have been mixing vodka and Red Bull for some time, but it’s usually in cocktails mixed by a bartender – and doesn’t typically come in 24 oz portions.  The costs of cocktail beverages are usually pretty high and therefore it’s easier to control how much you drink.

What are your thoughts on the Michigan ban on Four Loko? You can see a video explaining the Four Loko banned in Michigan below.