For Immediate Release
November 4, 2010
Winston-Salem, N.C. – With 12 percent alcohol and as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, "Four Loko" is creating fans in college students across the country.
"Four Loko" sells for about $3.00 a can in North Carolina, but drinking three 24-ounce cans is approximately the same as swilling 18 beers. "The affordability of the drink only leads to increased popularity," says Partnership for a Drug-Free NC C.E.O., Bert Wood. "Our students can get drunk on five or six dollars all night."
Colleges and Universities across the country, including Harvard, have issued warnings or bans on the consumption of "Four Loko" on campus. The move to educate students on the dangers of the beverage came after a rash of trips to the emergency room at Rampoo College in New Jersey and at Central Washington University in Washington.
Its nicknames include "blackout in a can" and "badness in a can."
The flavor in the drink masks the taste of alcohol while the caffeine prohibits one from quickly seeing the tell-tale signs of inebriation until the user is already quite sick.
"There will always be another trend. There will always be something people, teens and young adults especially, will want to try to get high and ‘feel good.’ It’s our job as parents, and as a community, to educate our youth before they’re faced with these decisions in a college environment," explained Wood.
"We are home to some of the best colleges and universities in the country. I am sure our college and university officials as well as student leaders will take effective steps before students get sick, need hospitalization, or worse."
Download 33_Four_Loko