Gov. Chris Gregoire joined Washington State Liquor Control Board Chair Sharon Foster on Wednesday to announce an emergency rule that bans the sale of alcoholic energy drinks in Washington state.
"At my request, the board this morning voted to ban this new breed of alcoholic drinks in our state. I applaud its members for their action," Gregoire said. "I was particularly concerned that these drinks tend to target young people. Reports of inexperienced or underage drinkers consuming them in reckless amounts have given us cause for concern."
The emergency rules will be in effect for 120 days, during which time the WSLCB will seek to make the rules permanent.
The vote comes after nine Central Washington University students became dangerously ill after drinking Four Loko.
Law enforcement officers reported the students had blood alcohol levels ranging from 0.12 to 0.35 percent, more than four times the legal limit.
A blood-alcohol concentration of 0.30 percent is considered potentially lethal.
"Quite simply, these drinks are trouble. They contain up to 12 percent alcohol -- more than twice the amount found in most beer," Gregoire said.
"Added to that are large amounts of caffeine, which can mask the effects of alcohol. By taking these drinks off the shelves we are saying 'no' to irresponsible drinking and taking steps to prevent incidents like the one that made these college students so ill."
Foster said the board is acting in the interest of public safety and acting now so alcoholic energy drinks cannot do anymore harm in the state before the Food and Drug Administration can act.
Mixing alcohol with caffeine drinks isn't new, but energy drinks like Four Loko have been recently gaining popularity with underage drinkers because they're cheap, potent, and so sweet they mask the taste of alcohol.
Mixing alcohol with caffeine is also not a good idea. Research suggests that the combination of caffeine and alcohol create a so-called "wide-awake drunk" and may impair a person's ability to judge his or her level of intoxication.
Risky behavior
This can lead to continued consumption of alcohol and risky behaviors such as driving while intoxicated, assaults and other violence.
A University of Florida survey of 800 randomly selected, college-age bar patrons found that those who consumed alcohol and caffeine were more intoxicated than those who only had alcohol, and four times more likely to say they wanted to drive home.
Combining stimulants such as caffeine and depressants such as alcohol is also bad for the body. It can place undue strain on the heart and central nervous system, dehydrate the body and hinder the body's ability to metabolize alcohol.
The combination can also cause a depressed respiratory system and vomiting during sleep when the stimulants wear off.
Critics of Four Loko and other alcoholic energy drinks say the companies appear to target teens and college students, using social networking sites, interactive fan websites and product giveaways at events.
Critics and officials also worry these potentially harmful drinks can easily be confused with their non-alcoholic energy drink counterparts.
