Four Loko: Alcohol-Coffee Mix 'Dangerous'

Remember I wrote about a "spiked drink" party in Washington where they suspected date rape drugs to be thrown into drinks? The idiots were chugging this stuff! No wonder they were passing out in high numbers!

NEW YORK - Mixing alcohol and caffeine is hardly a new concept but a rash of cases involving students and others who landed in hospital after drinking beverages that combine the two has alarmed college and health officials in the United States.

The drinks are dangerous, doctors say, because the caffeine masks the effects of the alcohol, keeping consumers from realising how intoxicated they are.

A brand called Four Loko - a fruit-flavoured malt beverage that has an alcohol content of 12 per cent and as much caffeine as a cup of coffee - has come under scrutiny after students who drank it in New Jersey and Washington ended up in emergency rooms, some with high levels of alcohol poisoning. The drink is only sold in the US.

"This is one of the most dangerous new alcohol concoctions I have ever seen," said Dr Michael Reihart, who said he had treated more than a dozen teenagers and adults during the past three months after they drank Four Loko.

"It's a recipe for disaster because your body's natural defence is to get sleepy and not want to drink but in this case you're tricking the body with the caffeine."

The Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing whether the drinks are safe. THE NEW YORK TIMES