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A potent punch

Debate over the dangers of alcoholic energy drinks has intensified after instances of college students becoming so intoxicated that they wound up in the hospital.

The military is no stranger to heavy drinking or energy drinks. In a 2008 survey, 20 percent of service members reported drinking heavily, and the Army and Air Force Exchage Service alone sold $69 million worth of energy drinks the same year.

Sold under catchy names, these new fruit-flavored alcoholic energy drinks come in oversized containers reminiscent of nonalcoholic sports drinks and sodas; critics warn that the packaging is no accident. They say the drinks are being marketed to young drinkers as a safe and affordable way to drink to excess. One brand, a fruit-flavored malt beverage sold under the name Four Loko, has caused special concern since it was consumed by college students in New Jersey and Washington state before they ended up in the ER, some with severe of alcohol poisoning.

“The soft drink or energy drink imagery of these drinks is just dangerous window dressing,” said Dr. Eric A. Weiss, an emergency medicine expert at Stanford University’s School of Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif. “It hides the fact that you’re consuming significant amounts of alcohol.”

In fact, these caffeinated alcoholic beverages can contain anywhere from 6 percent to 12 percent alcohol — the equivalent of roughly two to four beers.

— Gannett