University concerned over popular alcoholic drink

By Zachary Sampson, News Correspondent

University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS) sent a campus-wide e-mail Monday regarding the dangers of the popular beverage Four Loko.

The message, sent with the subject line “Four Loko health and safety concerns,” addressed negative consequences of mixing caffeine with alcohol and urged students to avoid significant consumption of the drink.

“Over the past week there have been news stories about the alcoholic beverage called Four Loko,” the e-mail said. “It is an unhealthy combination of alcohol and a stimulant beverage and can be dangerous to your health and safety.”

The message follows recent publicity concerning the product at other colleges nationwide.

Nine students were hospitalized last month at Central Washington University after consuming too much of the beverage. And Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J., banned the drink after many students were hospitalized with alcohol poisoning from drinking Four Loko. According to National Public Radio reports, 23 intoxicated Ramapo students were hospitalized over the span of a few weeks — some after drinking Four Loko.

“We sent the e-mail because we care about the health and safety of Northeastern students,” said Madeleine Estabrook, executive director of UHCS. “We wanted to draw some attention as well and put a spotlight on the dangers of combining alcohol and energy drinks or alcohol and caffeine in any which way.”

Amber Blum, a freshman who has not declared a major, said she supports the university’s letter, believing it was a necessary effort to inform the student body about prevalent risks.

“I think they were justified in sending it because it is a health issue we’re facing as college students,” Blum said.

The Northeastern message echoes similar efforts at other schools in the area, including Harvard University, Boston University, Boston College (BC) and Holy Cross. The schools did not collaborate on their efforts, but conveyed similar messages.

“[Four Loko] is a dangerous concoction that can create a number of severe reactions, some of which have been life-threatening,” the BC e-mail stated.

All messages pushed students to either restrict or abandon consumption of the beverage all together.

“We encourage you to avoid or significantly limit the use of this drink and ask for your help in telling your friends about its dangers. Let’s help keep each other safe and healthy by avoiding Four Loko,” the Northeastern e-mail said.

Workers at local liquor stores Huntington Liquors and Hollywood Liquors declined to comment.

Phusion Projects, started in 2005 by three friends at Ohio State University, produces the beverages Four Loko, Four MaXed and Earthquake. The company has expressed desire to cooperate with colleges regarding efforts to manage their product.

“Making college campuses safe and healthy environments for learning is a goal we share with administrators – even those who have chosen to ban our products,” the company said in a press release.

Products combining alcohol with caffeine have received heightened scrutiny of late, with Four Loko at the center of the controversy. The beverage comes in a 23.5 ounce can and is sold in eight flavors. One can of Four Loko contains 12 percent alcohol, along with a significant amount of caffeine, the quantity of which is not explicitly stated on the product’s nutrition facts.

Phusion Projects lists the alcohol content of their product as equivalent to “wines and some draft beers … [with] roughly the same amount of caffeine as a tall Starbucks coffee.”

But others, including college officials, claim a Four Loko is more powerful than the company claims.

“Four Loko … approximates six shots of alcohol and five cups of coffee,” according to the BC e-mail.

At Northeastern, UHCS specifically is concerned by the mix of alcohol and caffeine, two substances with opposite effects.

“We want [students] to understand the dangers of combining alcohol, which is a sedative, with caffeine in its various forms,” Estabrook said.

The UHCS website elaborates on the potential outcomes of drinking caffeinated alcoholic beverages. They provide the “Top 5 reasons why mixing caffeine or energy drinks with alcohol is a really bad idea.”

Students at Northeastern generally understand the high potential for these effects from consumption of Four Loko.

“I’ve heard of people passing out because they just drink, drink, drink until the point where they blackout; since it’s got caffeine it will keep you awake and you don’t feel the drunkenness,” Daniel McCready, a first-year graduate student in the journalism program said.

These dangers, along with amplified attention on drinks with alcohol and caffeine, have prompted a response from the Food and Drug Administration.

“The increasing popularity of consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages by college students and reports of potential health and safety issues necessitates that we look seriously at the scientific evidence as soon as possible,” said Joshua Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner of food and drugs, in a November 2009 FDA press release.

Phusion Projects is now on the FDA’s investigation list. The company has pursued a policy of cooperation with the federal effort.

“The US Food and Drug Administration is looking into the safety of our product and 40 other products produced by 26 other companies. We’ve complied with the agency’s request and have submitted a “Generally Regarded as Safe” (GRAS) study, which affirmed that the addition of caffeine to alcohol is indeed safe,” the company said in an October press release.

Much of the media attention surrounding Phusion Projects focuses on the belief that the company markets specifically to young students with a current, cheap product, generally less than $5 per can, depending on the state.

“Alcohol companies are targeting college students with these products without regard for your safety,” a recent Boston University press release said.

“I don’t know about how cheap it is, but I definitely know with a name like Four Loko, they’re not targeting my parents’ generation,” McCready said. “They’re clearly looking for college students and maybe even younger.”

Still, Phusion Projects remains firm in its stance against these claims. It refutes accusations that they market to a younger audience by emphasizing responsible drinking and warning labels, both on their cans and their website.

“Our cans feature seven different warnings about the product’s alcohol content and the necessity of an ID for purchase,” the company said in a recent press release.

Though many efforts to research, understand and limit consumption of caffeinated alcoholic beverages such as Four Loko are underway, some students question the effectiveness of Northeastern’s e-mail.

“Judging by Facebook statuses and just general talk, I think a lot of students took it as a joke,” Blum said. “I don’t think it’s going to have much of an impact.”