Four-Loko

rwik123 said:
Yes there are redbull and vodkas, but think about it; a redbull is about equal to one cup of decently strong coffee, and the vodka portion of the drink is DEF not equal to 6 odd beers. So to compare the portion of fourloko to a jagerbomb or vodka and redbull just isn't equivalent. It's the fact of young immature kids getting ahold of these dirt cheap beverages, having a reaction/blacking out and aspirating that's the scary thing.
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Rwik, you're from Boston, I don't know if you're a student or work around here, but around Northeastern, it's everywhere, the campus is freaking out about these things, and I know a lot of people who have horrible, terrible stories to tell about what happens when they are consumed- they aren't just your everyday vodka and redbull...they're about six and a half of those, and it comes in a pop-top that lets you chug it down like an energy drink.
 
Pittma said:
Rwik, you're from Boston, I don't know if you're a student or work around here, but around Northeastern, it's everywhere, the campus is freaking out about these things, and I know a lot of people who have horrible, terrible stories to tell about what happens when they are consumed- they aren't just your everyday vodka and redbull...they're about six and a half of those, and it comes in a pop-top that lets you chug it down like an energy drink.
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yeah im a senior in HS but visit lots of my friends at colleges such a BC, Northeastern, umass ect and its def out there.. i totally agree with that its not your average drink.. plus the marketing is colorful and geared towards our age group. Plus think about it in the minds of students; why pay for the greater quantity of alcohol when you can buy one cheap can that can do that much damage. Plus the caffeine side of it, i dont know the whole chemistry behind it, but it cannot be good to have those depressants and stimulants mixed together in such great numbers
 
lol four loko is awesome.

But I rather have my Jim Beam or a nice Dos Equis Lager
 
Pittma said:
Rwik, you're from Boston, I don't know if you're a student or work around here, but around Northeastern, it's everywhere, the campus is freaking out about these things, and I know a lot of people who have horrible, terrible stories to tell about what happens when they are consumed- they aren't just your everyday vodka and redbull...they're about six and a half of those, and it comes in a pop-top that lets you chug it down like an energy drink.
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woah six and a half? how the hell you get those numbers??? BS
 
Six and a 1/2 may be a big of an exaggeration, but the higher concentration Four Loko is 23.5 oz of 12% alcohol along with approximately the caffeine of 1 to 5 cups of coffee (the company hasn't released an actual number, and the no one can seem to agree). So that is about 3oz of alcohol with 100-200mg of caffeine (depending on the source, since "a cup of coffee" isn't a standard unit of measurement).
 
Cohn said:
woah six and a half? how the hell you get those numbers??? BS
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I believe it was in the improper bostonian, let me do some digging to find the source. A bit of a hyperbole, but I believe the exact numbers the article gave was 6 shots and 5 cups of coffee.
 
Pittma said:
I believe it was in the improper bostonian, let me do some digging to find the source. A bit of a hyperbole, but I believe the exact numbers the article gave was 6 shots and 5 cups of coffee.
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i think he's calling BS on that fourloko is equal to 5-6 redbull and vodka drinks.. i think its just a misunderstanding, i think you were referring to the cups of coffee
 
Four Loko is a weekly headache (starting Thursday night and ending early Sunday morning) for my one service as we protect a 10,000 student college campus in eastern Pennsylvania where Four Loko is prevalent. It has made all the media markets that serve eastern Pennsylvania. The town that contains all of the beverage-dispensing establishments recently asked all owners of bars and beverage distributors to voluntary pull Four Loko off the shelves because of the trouble we have been having with acute alcohol poisoning. I believe some said they would but we'll see...
 
MusicMedic said:
and the second one was Four Loko + Rum and Vodka= OD

which i dont know who in the right mind would do such a thing!



if you can find some stand alone stories i can comment on those!
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If you OD on that, then maybe you shouldn't be drinking in the first place. Might have another medical condition you're not aware of.
 
Wah wah wah, boo hoo hoo.
I just came back from BU, and while they were about a buck more then Fla, where I live, they were still about $3 a can. The g*ddammmed govt has no business with this. Kids need to learn, and if killing a few off is what it takes, well, survival of the fittest.
I love redbull and vodka, but had to stop drinking it because of a negative reaction to redbull (see SVT and wicked hangovers).
For $2-3, I can get drunk as I want, on something that I think tastes good.

You can take your hope and change, and I'll keep my money, guns, and freedom.
 
college

I work in a college town of about 30,000 permanent residents and 28,000 college students and we have ran into the fourloko problem a few times but no more than what we normally get on the weekends for unresponsive idiots
 
You guys speak about fourloko like it something new... There's other drinks like it called Tilt and Sparks which have been out since early 2000 and have had no media attention...
 
rwik123 said:
Plus the caffeine side of it, i dont know the whole chemistry behind it, but it cannot be good to have those depressants and stimulants mixed together in such great numbers
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As far as I know, they don't really know the physiology or chemistry behind it. I can tell you, however, that the basic rundown is that when a stimulant and a depressant fight, the stimulant is the one that (usually) wins. So the stimulant in Four Loko beats out the effects of the depressant, which basically results in someone being able to drink more before getting "drunk." And when the alcohol hits, it can hit very fast and very hard.

I personally don't drink, but I have had 1 call that involved Four Loko. The call came in as a "female not breathing at a party," but when we got there she was perfectly conscious. Did my EMT-B stuff (which, let's face it, isn't much at all) and when I went to put the pulse oximeter on her, I definitely did a double take. Her pulse was around 230 BPM, and her SpO2 was about 86 (granted, the speed of the pulse most likely affected this). Story was, she had consumed 4 Four Lokos an hour ago. That's the fastest pulse I've ever seen, and ever hope to see.
 
four loko is not 6 1/2 beers, its like 2 or maybe 3 and 2 or 3 cups of coffee.

I used to drink sparks, a similar beverage when I was in college in south central PA and never had problem, all this media attention only serves to make kids want to seek it put and try it. I had two at a party this weekend and made it home fine.

I'm 21, I should be able to drink what ever I want, because I understand the consequences.
 
double post, oops
 
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We did the calculation in my tox class, and there is enough alcohol in one can to get a 70kg person to a BAL of about .150. So one question is should we be selling something that if someone buys and drinks one they well get to twice the legal limit of drunk? Also note that it is sold in a can, so it's clearly not like a bottle of vodka that you are able to use part of it and put the rest away for another night. It is intended to be drunk all at once.

That's just the ETOH. There is quite a bit of caffeine in there, enough to start worrying about side effects.

Third issue is it is painted and marketed like an energy drink, some people are unaware of how much alcohol is in a can.

Fourth problem is that it is being aimed toward underaged drinkers. It's usually harder for them to buy vodka (sold in liquor stores were most people get carded) vs a can of 4loko sold in convenience stores and gas stations.

I'm a little surprised by all the "let people do whatever they want" arguments. Companies aren't allowed to create products that put people at undue risk. They aren't banning people from drinking these things, they are stopping them from being sold. And I think it is reasonable for a state to say you can't sell a can of alcohol that can't be closed and if you drink the whole thing a decent percentage of the population will get sick.
 
zmedic said:
We did the calculation in my tox class, and there is enough alcohol in one can to get a 70kg person to a BAL of about .150. So one question is should we be selling something that if someone buys and drinks one they well get to twice the legal limit of drunk? Also note that it is sold in a can, so it's clearly not like a bottle of vodka that you are able to use part of it and put the rest away for another night. It is intended to be drunk all at once.

That's just the ETOH. There is quite a bit of caffeine in there, enough to start worrying about side effects.

Third issue is it is painted and marketed like an energy drink, some people are unaware of how much alcohol is in a can.

Fourth problem is that it is being aimed toward underaged drinkers. It's usually harder for them to buy vodka (sold in liquor stores were most people get carded) vs a can of 4loko sold in convenience stores and gas stations.

I'm a little surprised by all the "let people do whatever they want" arguments. Companies aren't allowed to create products that put people at undue risk. They aren't banning people from drinking these things, they are stopping them from being sold. And I think it is reasonable for a state to say you can't sell a can of alcohol that can't be closed and if you drink the whole thing a decent percentage of the population will get sick.
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And who says that I have to drink it back in one gulp?
Marketed? I have yet to see ANY marketing on it, and the sales people card whoever I come in with as well, then swipe my DL on the register.

I know what I get into when I drink 4loko. The govt had no right to do what they did.
 
Prove a decent percent will be severely impaired of one can. All these stories have something in common, additional liquor, or drugs bring introduced to the drink.

It says is alcohol content in pretty significant fine and typeface right on the front of the can

These products have been on the market for years, is it now different? Sparks is a prepackaged vodka + energy drink sold by Anheiuser Busch in a similar sized can I was drinking in 2000

how is this different then a 40oz beverage? High volume, high alcohol content? Or the smirnoff ice sold in 32 oz bottles

The access argument is a weak one, ban this stuff, it won't even cause a blip in the underage drinking rates. Kids will just go get drunk off traditional drinks. Except its to hard to demonize every type of liquor, but one product can be made the villain
 
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