Standard Drink Labels – Isn’t It Time?
From all reports, Four Loko is not consumed for its taste, which is reportedly awful. It’s consumed for its buzz — its caffeine/alcohol combo. But, drinking one 23.5 ounce can (the can that looks like a 24 ounce regular beer) is the same as drinking five beers or five, 5-ounce glasses of wine or five, 1.5 ounce shots of tequila — in other words, five standard drinks. Five!
Given it takes the liver an average of 1 hour to process 1 standard drink — that’s about 5 hours to rid the brain and body of the alcohol contained in 1 Four Loco — no wonder people are being hospitalized and/or doing “things” they just wouldn’t do after drinking one or two and in one reported case, three in one hour.
Reasons to Support Standard Drink Labels
So what would knowing how much is in the can do? First of all, for those who are trying to drink responsibly (safely), the math required to figure out ABV (alcohol by volume) in any given drink is something else. Consider this from the blogger, The Discovering Alcoholic, “If you do the math of what one Four Loko has in it compared to one Bud Lite that you can by in my home state (Alabama), the numbers work out like this – one 12oz Bud Lite has 4.2 ABV so … if we multiply that by almost 3 (AVB at 12%) and then double for the number of ounces (24) your over the 5 beer mark.”
Second reason to support standard drink labels (which is as simple as, “SD = 5”) — it may give a person pause. Pause to consider, “Hum, 5 drinks, maybe I should have a 24-ounce regular beer (SD=2), instead.”
We must do something to raise awareness that not all alcoholic beverages (whether a drink poured at a bar or drinks in a container) are alike. Not only might standard drink labels give pause to the person choosing the “drink,” it will help those who are in their company.
If a friend or family member is watching their friend or family member consume two drinks, such as a margarita, for example, with standard drink labels showing each one contains three standard drinks, that person will understand their friend has not just had a “couple,” they’ve had six. With this information, s/he might elect not to take a ride home with that person. And if their friend passes out after three Four Lokos, they can quickly do the math and rush their friend to the hospital, recognizing their friend has had 15 drinks and could die in the fifteen hours it will take for their liver to process “just” three Four Lokos.
Related Link: March 15, 2010, KQED, With a Perspective, What’s In That Drink?
© 2010 Lisa Frederiksen
Lisa Frederiksen
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Drinks such as Four Loko should be banned. They are packaged similarly to energy drinks and other readily available drinks that appeal to young people, with flashy lettering and easy open cans. These drinks are being used as a precursor to going out and drinking even more. The full effects are not immediately felt by the drinker, and so many have several other drinks before the feeling of drunkeness sets in. By then it is too late, and they are well on their way to a major hangover, or even worse a visit to the ER.
It hard for me to understand why these drinks are allowed. My guess is that they appeal to no one but the young drinker, who many times does not have the experience to know how much they are consuming. I agree that they should be banned.
It’s amazing how much national publicity and legal/legislative action this drink aroused! Thanks for the comment.