{"id":63706,"date":"2010-11-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-11-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/stimulant-enhanced-beverages-add-new-danger-to-alcohol-consumption\/"},"modified":"2010-11-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-11-05T00:00:00","slug":"stimulant-enhanced-beverages-add-new-danger-to-alcohol-consumption","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2010\/11\/stimulant-enhanced-beverages-add-new-danger-to-alcohol-consumption\/","title":{"rendered":"Stimulant-enhanced beverages add new danger to alcohol consumption"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 November 5, 2010 \u2013 With growing concern about college students drinking stimulant-enhanced alcoholic beverages, the 溏心vlog免费B站 banned such drinks from campus.<\/p>\n


\nThe University announced Wednesday that 溏心vlog免费B站 President David M. Dooley approved the ban of beverages like Four Loko because 溏心vlog免费B站 officials believe such beverages pose a health risk equal to or greater than grain alcohol, tap systems, drinking games, and common source containers, all of which are already banned in the 溏心vlog免费B站 Student Handbook.<\/p>\n


\nThe national media recently reported an incident involving nine freshmen women at Central Washington University who were hospitalized after drinking at a party. At first, authorities believed the women had their drinks spiked by drugs. It turned out that all nine women reported drinking Four Lokos that night. Since that incident, Central Washington University and Ramapo College in New Jersey have banned Four Loko and other stimulant-enhanced alcoholic beverages on their campuses. In addition, a number of state attorneys general, including New York and New Jersey, and the Federal Food and Drug Administration are investigating the legality of selling stimulant-enhanced alcoholic beverages.<\/p>\n


\nFour Loko is of particular concern given that it is 12 percent alcohol by volume, and comes in 23.5-ounce cans. This means that each can of Four Loko is the equivalent of 4.7 standard drinks. <\/p>\n


\nWith high doses of caffeine and alcohol in one beverage, drinks like Four Loko make for a dangerous product.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWhen you drink alcohol, eventually you feel tired and start to feel down because it is a depressant,\u201d said Dan Graney assistant director of 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Office of Student Life for Substance Abuse Prevention. \u201cWhen you add the caffeine, you stay up emotionally. You still get the high from the the alcohol, but you also have the buzz of the caffeine.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nUnlike regular alcoholic beverages that cause the body to trigger itself to slow down, the stimulant-enhanced alcoholic beverages keep a person more alert, leading them to drink even more.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWith these drinks, you are not getting that \u2018slow down\u2019 or tired affect until you ultimately pass out or throw up. By then, it\u2019s too late to slow down,\u201d Graney said. <\/p>\n


\nBeyond the dangerous combination of high alcohol content and caffeine, these drinks are also marketed differently. The packaging is designed more like the energy drinks of Red Bull, Monster or Rockstar than any other alcoholic drinks. In states that allow alcohol to be sold in convenience stores, beverages like Four Loko are often shelved alongside the energy drinks. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cThey do not advertise them as an energy drink, but they are branded just like them,\u201d Graney said. \u201cIf you go to their web site, they make a point of saying it is not an energy drink. But the cans look alike.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nWith a fruity, very sweet flavor, drinks like Four Loko are marketed for faster consumption than other alcohol. At $2.50 or $3 a can, it is a cheaper, faster way to get inebriated.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt is very popular with the \u2018pre-gaming\u2019 and binge-drinking culture prevalent on college campuses,\u201d Graney said. \u201cIt is essentially four drinks in one can. It is almost the definition of binge drinking.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cYou get you wired so you can continue to drink. Many students might have one or two cans in an hour. Would you otherwise think of having eight drinks in one hour? That\u2019s essentially what you are doing here.\u201d <\/p>\n


\nGraney said it is important for any consumer, student or otherwise, to understand the dangers that come with this type of drink. Anyone with questions can contact Graney at 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Office of Student Life for Substance Abuse Prevention at 401.874.5073 or dgraney@uri.edu.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 November 5, 2010 \u2013 With growing concern about college students drinking stimulant-enhanced alcoholic beverages, the 溏心vlog免费B站 banned such drinks from campus. The University announced Wednesday that 溏心vlog免费B站 President David M. Dooley approved the ban of beverages like Four Loko because 溏心vlog免费B站 officials believe such beverages pose a health […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63706\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}