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Four Loko Frat Boys Spanked by Federal Trade Commission

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Four Loko Frat Boys Spanked by Federal Trade Commission
 
Alcohol Justice Applauds Alcopop Labeling Order and
Calls for Parity on All Alcohol Products


 
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (February 13, 2013) – Alcohol Justice expressed its appreciation today for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order forcing Phusion Projects, LLC to re-label their dangerous supersized alcopop Four Loko.
 
“The FTC order is a solid step in acknowledging and controlling the public health menace of alcopops,” stated Bruce Lee Livingston, Executive Director/CEO of Alcohol Justice. “We hope that it will be just a matter of time before all alcopops, beer and distilled spirits products are forced to comply with a similar ruling. Unfortunately though, this order does nothing to reduce the supersized alcohol content of Four Loko or other similar youth-oriented alcopops.” 
 
For many years Alcohol Justice has been a leader in the national effort to properly regulate flavored malt beverages (FMBs), known to the public as alcopops. Its groundbreaking 2007 report, Alcohol, Energy Drinks, and Youth: A Dangerous Mix, furthered the campaign that ultimately led to the Food and Drug Administration action on alcoholic energy drinks in November 2010.
 
In the U.S., 10.7 million underage youth drink, and 7.2 million binge drink. Alcohol-related problems from underage drinking cost the country $60 billion annually.
 
Alcohol Justice also sounded the first alarm about supersized alcopops that remain in the wake of producers reformulating their alcopop products without caffeine. In addition to Four Loko, other products that fit the same youth-oriented profile include Joose by United Brands and Blast by Pabst Brewing Company. Blast has been attacked for an ethnic and youth oriented marketing campaign headed up by Snoop Dogg.
 
The FTC ruling against Phusion Project’s Four Loko attempts to address the inherent dangers of supersized alcopops by requiring a new label that accurately states the number of standard-sized drinks in each can. It also requires the products to have re-sealable tops. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that these re-sealable containers will discourage the harm-producing binge drinking associated with the products.
 
“We will continue to insist on lowering the alcohol percentages and size of alcopops,” added Livingston. “We will also continue to call for an end to the product category, be it by federal regulation, state legislation, or voluntary retailer self-imposed ban in response to community pressure.”
 
Alcohol Justice has proposed model legislation to ban the monster 23.5 oz, single serving cans, with up to 12% alcohol content, and has launched a model program called Alcopop Free Zone™ to assist community organizing to prompt retailers to voluntarily remove the products from their shelves.
 
For more information, please go to www.AlcopopFreeZone.us 
 
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