Marc

Please read my earlier posts. I am referring to energy drinks in general, particularly Red Bull,  whether pre-mixed with alohol or not. Unfortunately, neither the FDA nor the writer zeroed in on what the Europeans and Australians did. Caffeine and Taurine is a dangerous mix that temporarily alters the blood as to mimic coronary artery disease and has been associated with sudden cardiac death. So yes. These drinks are sold right next to the gatorade…

Paolo…

“I think we went through all this as a nation about 90 years ago, during prohibition. That didn’t work out too well.”

That all depends on your perspective.  Prohibition made many people quite wealthy.  As a matter of fact, a US president was elected because of the money and power accumulated during prohibition.  Anytime a government outlaws something or institutes excessive taxes a black market will be created.  My grandfather ran a speakeasy and always said if it hadn’t been for Prohibition he doubted he would have been able to send both his sons through med school much less college.  Funny how things work out.

My view as a libertarian is that the FDA’s attempt to prevent mixing of alcohol and caffeine is breathtakingly idiotic.

If people really want to mix caffeine and alcohol, and the FDA forbids manufacturers from mixing the two, drinkers will simply mix the drinks themselves. Get some instant coffee, mix with a little sugar, add some vodka, and voila!

Or, as other posters have pointed out, people already do this by mixing Red Bull or other energy drinks with booze.

I think we went through all this as a nation about 90 years ago, during prohibition. That didn’t work out too well.

melpol…

Your sarcasm is a bit overstated, but then again many a truth is said in jest.  Many years ago I had a job as an air pollution inspector for a large city.  The person who trained me instructed me that when I entered a site and parked my vehicle to leave the trunk unlocked.  Needless to say, I received some really nice surprises.  Whether those gifts affected my report——only I know!

No surprise, as long as it is huge profit maker that just so happens to contain an
extra addictive type substance and I believe was called a ‘speedball’, of lesser
degree, which combines depressants and stimulates but ask keith richards of the
stones about what was in that ‘cocktail’.

Marketing IS protected by its 1st amendment rights.

anaman51:

There is a very big difference between being a “safety nazi,” as you eloquently put it, and having some common sense with what we allow in our markets. These drinks are sold right next to Gatorade. If there is a risk in consuming them, people have a right to know. As it stands, most people believe they are perfectly safe and drink them ad nauseum.

If an “evil scientist” were slowly poisoning the population, I don’t think we would tolerate it for a second. Toss in some sugar, give it a cool name with some sexy advertising and packaging and it becomes an issue of freedom I suppose. 

It’s a sad statement when we side with a deceptive product that is killing people because we think its an afront to freedom. Last I checked though, killing people was the ultimate afront to freedom. The only freedom you’re supporting is the freedom to kill your own people for profit. Might as well start selling sugar-frosted plutonium flakes next to the cocoa puffs…

And here come the Safety Nazis to tell us what not to put in our bodies. Don’t get the idea I condone this stuff; I don’t. Although I drink plenty of coffee, I don’t drink alcohol—-don’t care for the stupifying buzz. Even though this product will be attacked by those who want to save us all from everything, I’m sure those college students will somehow manage to continue to get kneewalking, barf-wallowing drunk whenever they please. Banning the combination is only another attempt by our government to regulate what we do and how we do it.

Here’s the reality: You live in a free country; you’re free to do exactly as you’re told.

JohnMcD

I’m not convinced mixing caffeine and alcohol alone is the real problem. At least where Red Bull is concerned, they mix taurine with caffeine which has a similar effect to ephedrine. The research is inconclusive from what I’ve read, though. All I know is that I’ve never hear of someone keeling over after a couple of Irish coffees, while 20 year olds with no history of problems die in the middle of a basketball game or dancefloor. In fairness though I can’t assume that my limited experience accounts for the entire data set, so I guess we’ll have to see.

Meanwhile, I and millions of other Americans will continue to drink whiskey with coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola…

The most difficult job to get is that of an inspector working for the government.
50 grand under the table to obtain the job of a food inspector is a good
investment. The money will easily be returned in 6 months. Inspecting the books
of medicare providers is another good one. After 20 years on that job you should
retire with 10 million stuffed into 10 vaults. The second best job would be an
inspector of the inspectors. The mother of all inspector jobs is the job of Inspector
General. After 4 years the job holder will be in the Forbes 500.

correction:

“...banned in several European countries.”

Once upon a time, in the army…

We came off march one day and released out soldiers to go home. One in paticular stopped in at a convenience store and bought several Red Bulls. Within an hour, he was found slumped over in car convulsing. He wasn’t even able to get the car in park. Paramedics defribulated him on the scene and he arrived at the hospital brain dead from full cardiac arrest.

Alas, this is a happy ending though…

Doctors were able get him on life support and put him in a medically induced coma. Within a couple days he was conscious again. Strange thing was, the cardiologist couldn’t find anything wrong with his heart, nor did he have any history of heart problems.

I did some internet reserachof my own and learned that Red Bull, a potent dose of caffeine and taruine, has been in several European countries. An Australian study linked it to “sudden cardiac death,” while yet another study suggested that one, sugar-free Red Bull temporarily alters the blood so much that it mimicks coronary artery disease.

None of these studies involved mixing the drink with alcohol. Every study suggested that coupling the energy drink with high physical exertion such as we had been doing that day, can seal a fate. After that, not only did I swear off all energy drinks, I banned my Soldiers from consuming them inthe field. I would have banned them altogether, if they weren’t located right next to the damn Kit Kats in the grocery store.

Just thought I’d share that with you.