State’s Responsible Retailers Ask for Ban on Alcohol Energy Drinks

INDIANAPOLIS, Nov. 12, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Indiana Association
of Beverage Retailers (IABR) is asking the state to take action in banning a
potentially dangerous product that is being sold by retailers across Indiana.

Today, executives of IABR asked the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission (ATC)
to take steps to ensure that retailers no longer sell high-alcohol, high-energy
content drinks–and are asking its members to take the first step in pulling the
product from shelves.

“Several states, and the federal government, have taken steps to investigate
these potentially harmful products–or approved outright bans on sales,” said
Brad Rider, chairman of the IABR board and CEO of United Package Liquors in
Indianapolis.

“Pending an outcome of a review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, we’re
asking our package store members to take the lead and voluntarily stop selling
these drinks,” Rider said.

The percentage of alcohol in the popular drinks varies from 6 percent to as much
as much as 12 percent alcohol, or the equivalent of four beers.

Nicknamed “Blackout in a Can” by college-age consumers, the high-alcohol,
high-caffeine energy drinks are under increasing scrutiny by state attorneys
general, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and now state regulatory boards
that govern alcohol sales in various states.

In the past week alone, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and New York regulatory
agencies have taken steps to enact product bans, moratoriums on sales of the
product, asking for new state laws, and more. Several colleges and universities
have also banned the drinks from their campuses.

“In Indiana, we’re asking the state to step in as well,” said John Livengood,
president and CEO of the statewide association that represents the interests of
1,000 Hoosier-owned package stores. Livengood believes the ATC has broad
discretionary authority to follow in the footsteps of other state regulatory
agencies.

Much of the concern over these type of drinks was sparked after a national
incident in Central Washington when several young women passed out at an
off-campus party and had to be hospitalized after drinking a beverage identified
under the brand Four Loko.

Medical authorities have said that the drinks are dangerous because they contain
stimulants as well as depressants. When caffeine blocks the effect of the
alcohol content, it can easily be overconsumed.

According to regulators, a typical alcohol energy drink is 24 ounces and has a
12-percent alcohol content–about the equivalent of drinking four, 12-ounce
beers at once. The drinks also range in cost from $2-$5 a can, making them a
cheap and accessible beverage for college students.

In September, IABR also was the first retail association in Indiana to ask its
members statewide for a voluntarily recall of an herbal item known as Spice or
K2. The compound sold under various trade names is reported to be 10 times more
powerful than marijuana, but is currently legal.

About the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers
The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers is a statewide membership group
for package store owners licensed and regulated by the state of Indiana. Founded
in 1936, the association’s mission is to protect, promote and improve the
package store industry in Indiana. The association is also a partner with
Project RAD (Responsible Alcohol Distribution).

About Project RAD

Project RAD stands for Project Responsible Alcohol Distribution in Indiana. The
group’s state partners include the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers,
Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, Drug-Free Coalition of Tippecanoe
County, CHANCES for Indiana Youth in Vigo County, Drug Free Marion County and
the Monroe County Asset Building Coalition. Founded in 2002, the mission of
Project RAD is to encourage responsible handling and distribution of alcohol in
Indiana. For more information visit: www.projectRAD.com

SOURCE Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers