Intoxicated and Caffeinated in the ER

IMO, the media reports on the dangers of Four Loco are a little bit over embellished.

No one thinks the real issue here is that the drinks are stronger and larger than regular beers and tastes like fruit juice? Not that there's anything wrong with that but people aren't used to getting that drunk off 2-3 cans. People have been drinking redbull and vodkas for years without any major incidents.

Sparks is another caffeinated alcoholic beverage that has been on the market for years but there has been no hoopla surrounding it probably because it is only half as strong as Four Loco.

Add all that to the fact that Four Loco has been FDA approved while the popular non-alcoholic 5-hour energy drinks are not FDA approved.

The people trying to ban these drinks have no scientific or medical evidence other than a few scare-tactic headlines that got parents' panties in a bunch. Looks like some people will stop at nothing to strip us of any freedoms we did have.

Kaplin

"5-hour energy drinks are not FDA approved."

You are correct, it is not. From the 5-Hour Energy website FAQ:

"Dietary supplements are stringently regulated, but are not approved by the FDA. All dietary supplements must comply with the provisions of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act as regulated by the FDA."

So, you are correct, 5 Hour Energy is not FDA approved. Your implication that it cannot achieve FDA approval smacks of the scare tactic you mention and object to.

MODERATION! All things in moderation. It appears the trouble is, people (young people) are consuming several of these drinks. It is the same as too much beer or gin: MODERATION!

"Dietary supplements are stringently regulated, but are not approved by the FDA. All dietary supplements must comply with the provisions of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act as regulated by the FDA."

Ooooh I love this liguistic beurocratic gobbledegook.
So the beverage must COMPLY with the provisions as regulated by the FDA.
But the FDA doesn't APPROVE of the beverage...
So what do they do?
Maybe they sit around giving the can of beverage the hard stare, tut tutting and wagging their fingers with a general air of dissaproval?
Del

Good morning Del.

I have a friend who owns and operates a Micro-brew beer house. I have heard him adulterate the phrase to 'Strangulation Regulation'. He has described the varied government regulations with with phrases colorful enough to do justice to a drunken shirty taxi driver (no offense intended to our teamster brothers)! ^{_{As an aside, I haven't used the word shirty in ages. Glad I had a chance here!}}

What do they do? My friend speculates they get their orders from the United States Department of Waste, Fraud and Theft. Beyond that, I don't know.

Doorman ... Just remember that Epicurus taught that pleasure is the guiding principle of the good life, and that moderation is the key to pleasure. That being said, he also taught that moderation had to be moderate too; so (moderately-frequent and -intense) drunko-caffeinated excesses are OK. :P Dreeeeeead Zontaaaaaaaaaar Pretty useful being Greek, I must say P.S. Drinking has its upside. Greeks clued in to this way back when; they'd philosophize at dinner parties, which they called 'symposia'. The literal meaning of the the word is 'drinking together'. Sort of tells what where the emphasis lay. :P P.P.S. Greeks weren't alone in giving merit to alcohol-induced free-thinking. The Persians used to consider important matters twice: when drunk, and when sober. If it made sense both ways, then ...

He's not my doctor!

How many doctors do they think a girl needs, anyway? Sheesh!