Aug 22, 2007 7:40 am US/Eastern
States Wage Battle On New Alcoholic Energy Drinks
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
A new wave of energy drinks has an extra ingredient: alcohol.
State leaders in Illinois and across the country want to crack down on the marketing of those drinks because they say the ads are misleading. The manufacturers deny it.
The Illinois attorney general is finding that hard to swallow, reports CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago.
So-called energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster are all the rage with teens and twenty-somethings. Now, a similar but new product is getting some attention - energy drinks with beer.
"I guess if I needed energy to stay up later, like if we're at a party and I needed the energy to stay up for a long period of time, then yeah sure I would… I'd give it a try," said Chicago resident Yvonne Nelson.
But attorneys general from 30 states are concerned that drinks like Sparks and Bud Extra are being marketed irresponsibly. This week they sent a letter to federal officials asking them to look at advertising claims.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was one of them.
"We really want to prevent them from making health statements about these drinks and to say they are a healthy way for teens and young adults to increase their energy," said attorney general spokesperson Robyn Ziegler.
But do these drinks, which contain ingredients like caffeine, ginseng and guarana, actually give people the boost they claim? And could there be health risks from drinking an alcoholic energy drink?
Rush Medical Center nutritionist and assistant professor Susie Rockway says there could be problems.
"They probably don't have enough of ingredients to make a big deal, but they don't tell you, do they on the ingredient list, so you don't know. And that's the part that I don't like, that you don't' know how much you're getting," Rockway said.
Rockway says alcohol is always a concern, as well.
The companies are defending their drinks and marketing practices, saying all meet federal regulatory requirements.
It's now up to the Federal Trade and Tax Bureau to determine if any additional oversight is necessary.
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