Teen Health

FDA: Caffeinated Alcoholic Drinks Are Unsafe

Lawmaker Praises Actions of Federal Agencies continued...

“Let this serve as a warning to anyone who tries to peddle dangerous and toxic brews to our children, ‘Do it, and we will shut you down,'" Schumer’s statement says.

He says the actions by the federal agencies “should be the nail in the coffin of these dangerous and toxic drinks” and that “parents should be able to rest a little easier knowing that soon their children won’t have access to this deadly brew.”

Schumer says New York’s State Liquor Authority and the state’s largest beer distributors agreed to stop selling the drinks this past week. He also says Oklahoma, Utah, Michigan, and Washington have taken steps to ban the drinks.

Companies Respond

United Brands says in a news release that it is engaging with alcohol regulatory bodies and legislators to provide clarity around the responsible marketing practices of the company. Phusion Projects says in a news release that it will produce only non-caffeinated versions of Four Loko.

Rhonda Kallman, founder and CEO of New Century Brewing, which makes the caffeinated alcoholic beverage Moonshot, tells WebMD she is perplexed by the federal actions and “reeling from the news.”

She says Moonshot contains only a tiny amount of caffeine, much less than the products made by the other three companies.

“I’ve been in the business for 25 years,” she says. “I’m curious about this. There has to be some percentage that works, because caffeinated alcoholic beverages have been around for decades.”

Charge Beverages could not be reached for comment prior to publication time.