Published 2010-11-02T16:27:00Z”/>
Alexander Seymour
An energy drink and malt liquor – what a synergy.
This is a beverage combination that has been growing in popularity ever since I arrived in Chico four years ago.
The newest of this beverage class – the Four Loko – is legendary for putting people on the fast track to partying all night long.
However, it’s now also infamous for putting people on the fast track to the hospital.
Fifty students from Central Washington University were sickened during a party from drinking the beverage, with nine having to be hospitalized, according to <a href= “http://www.abcnews.com”>ABCNews.com</a>.
In response, several college campuses have banned the drink, and the Washington district attorney is making overtures to the federal government to have the drink banned nationwide.
The motivations for this ban are at the very least ill informed, and at worst they are an overstep that sets a dangerous precedent.
This incident was not caused exclusively by drinking Four Lokos, rather it was a product of a typical mistake underage drinkers make – alcoholic overindulgence.
The kids at this party were inexperienced freshmen who were drinking a whole buffet of beverages as well as Four Lokos. Only being interested in getting drunk quickly, they probably didn’t stop to ration a drink that is the equivalent of six Keystones and five cups of coffee.
Ken Briggs, professor and department chair of physical education at Central Washington University, thinks the sickened students’ general mindset was to get as drunk as possible, he said in a statement to the Washington Observer.
“They were all inexperienced drinkers that lack tolerance, and it takes time for tolerance to develop,” he said.
“They were rocked by the alcohol put in their body.”
Critics such as the NewYorkPost.com have made assumptions that the combination of alcohol and caffeine is unhealthy, but these assertions are yet to be backed up by fact from the Food and Drug Administration, who is still conducting a study in the matter.
Even if the drink is discovered to be unusually unhealthy, that should not be precedence for the product to be removed. Hard liquor, caffeine, cigarettes and fast food have all been shown to be detrimental to our health in various ways. If Four Loko is banned, then shouldn’t these other products be given the boot on the same rationale?
It is troubling that the bad choices of a few individuals who legally shouldn’t have been drinking anyway are being used to dictate the conduct of adults.
The core issue here is some people enjoy what they perceive as a heightened quality of life over longevity. If adults enjoy abusing their bodies by smoking, eating grease or drinking heavily, the government has no business telling people how to live their lives.
What’s worse is that some individuals would even ban this product on the grounds of social correctness.
After banning Four Loko on campus, Central Washington University President Peter Mercer said there was no redeeming social purpose to be served by having the beverage, according to the New York Post.
Since when was being socially redeeming a prerequisite for any product? Many of us think that alcohol is socially redeeming – at least when we are intoxicated – but when the effects wear off, it is usually the drunken times we must try to redeem ourselves from.
Using Mercer’s logic, it seems that all alcoholic beverages should be banned.
However, with the new health care bill, we may have just given the government a reason to dictate the products we consume. If people end up going to the hospital from drinking Four Loko, then a person’s personal choice has just become a public burden that costs the taxpayers more money.
I’m not saying that this particular move to ban Four Loko is because of the health care bill, but I am saying that we will inevitably see limitations on product choices in the name of health care. This has already occurred in Denmark, France and Norway, all of whom have banned Red Bull energy drinks.
There is no doubt that drinking Four Lokos can lead to both embarrassing and sickening situations. They may very well be dangerous for your heart and frankly, they taste terrible.
I may not agree with the lifestyle choice that drinking Four Lokos entails, but I will fight to the death for people’s right to drink them.
Alexander Seymour can be reached at [email protected]
