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I-Team Award For Investigation On "Dangerous Brew"

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Sep 9, 2008 5:27 pm US/Eastern

I-Team Award For Investigation On "Dangerous Brew"

You may have seen the CBS4 I-Team special investigation into alcoholic energy drinks.

The series prompted a federal investigation and helped convince Anheuser Busch to pull its alcoholic energy drinks off the market.

Now, I-Team Investigator Laurie Stein has won the prestigious national award of excellence from Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

At an awards ceremony in Dallas, Texas, the announcer said "The winner of excellence in the broadcast category is WFOR in Miami, Florida. Accepting the award on behalf of WFOR is investigative reporter Laurie Stein."

At its national conference in Dallas, Texas, Mothers Against Drunk Driving gave CBS4 its top honors thanking the station for raising public awareness about alcoholic energy drinks.

The series exposed the stealth-like advertising of the fruit-flavored alcoholic drinks, which often appeal to young people on the web.

Online, teenagers would talk about being buzzed by these drinks. They talked about what it's like to be high and drunk at the same time. "We all know the kind of heartache a person can do when that person is very drunk but doesn't feel so drunk," said Stein.

In her series, Stein showed what can happen to a person's reflexes when they drink 3 Sparks in 3 hours. She also showed how easy it is for teenagers to buy the drinks at local convenience stores.

The series prompted a federal investigation into the alcohol and caffeine content of these drinks, and after the story aired Anheuser Busch announced it was completely withdrawing from the alcoholic energy drink market. 

Miller Brewing Company, however, continues to market and sell its alcoholic energy drink, Sparks. At the national MADD awards, many attendees said they would like to see that change.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)