Blackout in a can or the beginning of a good night? This is the question that raves every young persons mind before they pop open a Four Loko. However, this fun drink has been causing a lot of controversy lately leading to a ban of this malt beverage in many states. Four Loko, which has an alcohol content of 12 percent and as much caffeine as a cup of coffee came under heavy scrutiny when students from Ramapo College, New Jersey and University in Ellensburg, Washington ended up in the emergency room with high levels of alcohol poisoning. Sounds like freshmen that don’t know their tolerance to me.. For $ 2.50 how can one go wrong? The appealing can, with a horrid taste will be off shelves by December 10th.
Four Loko is a rather poor tasting concoction designed for the purpose of making the imbiber intoxicated in a swift and cost-effective manner, while blunting the depressive effects of alcohol with caffeine. It is also the subject of a national hysteria—or at least, a Congressional hysteria. Like many people, I think Four Loko being a national political issue is a bit outrageous—but I am also a bit relieved.
One of the biggest issues is the appealing factor to underage drinkers (like you and I). Understandably the pretty colors on the can does appeal to young drinkers, but how they get their hands on them has nothing to do with Phusion Products. That is the problem of the bodega/store owners. Even though we can not shutdown every bodega in New York City, better checking of IDs would help. According to the Daily News “The agreements came after an undercover sting operation at 28 mom-and-pop stores in the Bronx last week led to four arrests for selling the booze-infused beverage to minors.”
Many people also seem to be invincible after a Four Loko thinking they can drink and drive. News flash America: drinking and then driving never meshed well.
The media definitely had a significant effect on the banning of this drink. The monstrous coverage definitely opened eyes of others in the dangers of this drink. Local politicans even joined the efford in showing the harms of Four Loko. Assemblyman Felix Ortiz offered to use himself as an example to show the harmful affects of Four Loko; props to the guy for drinking 2.5 cans of that in one hour. We all know how it ended though.. Now lets imagine an 18 drinking 2.5 cans in an hour. This is the stance that many people are trying to push for. Prevent underage drinking. Mr. Ortiz would not have used himself as an example if he did not feel so strongly about the issue.
Some people will still get their hands on Four Loko, just check Craigslist and you’ll find it for $8 a can. Luckily it’s only a 250%-300% mark-up but still cheaper than a handle, sounds like a bargain if you ask me. Although the media has had significant coverage on this, Criagslist does not seem to be getting the same scrutiny as Phusion Projects did for distributing the product. If underage drinkers could get their hands on them in bodegas, wouldn’t it be easier to buy them off Craigslist? If you plan on buying off Craigslist just give it a day or two, there’s bound to be a surplus!
I think it's too bad it took so long for authorities to recognize that this product is clearly marketed towards underage drinkers. This is very similar to when they accused cigarette companies from blatantly targeting teenagers saying it's cool to smoke, with cartoon camels and flavored tobacco. The government should be here to protect the citizens from irresponsible or dangerous products.
ReplyDeleteVery good topic of recent events that is further brining attention to the four loco controversy which I believe is a good thing as people have tendency to abuse this product a lot. You do a good job of summarizing this quality of life issue. However, I am not sure what you are trying to point out, is it media coverage of the four loco controversy? If it is, how is it related to politics? Perhaps, you can point out what local politicians are doing about this (i.e. A city council man actually vomitted demonstrating the effects of the drink) and relate it into a political matter.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sayyid, I have not seen any real political issue underlying all of this media coverage. I will admit you did a pretty good job explaining how Four Lokos compares to any conscious altering product. At the end of the day, alcohol is alcohol. And no matter how you package it, or ban it, kids will get their hands on it. Remember Prohibition, anyone?
ReplyDeleteYou picked a good topic, as it relates to today's youth and an issue that is of current concern, or at least should be, for the entire nation. But I agree with the comments above, I'm not too sure of what exactly you're trying to get across about this drink and its relationship to media and/or politics. Perhaps you should try looking into the ban government is trying to implement on this drink in every state, and how the media has helped expand the news about the effects of the drink in relation to the ban, more deeply.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post and reading the comments, I have nothing much to add. I think it's a great choice of topic, because as Sofia points out, it is very relevant to today's society. But I also agree that the link between the politics of this is pretty vague. You mention the politics, but it seems more as in a passing context than the main focus. Other than the, the only thing I noticed was that you said "Rampo College" instead of "Ramapo College." But I think with a few tweaks, this could be a great posting.
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