CNN: 'Blackout in a can' blamed for student party illnesses

[Bang]

Exactly.

Personal responsibility seems to be a foreign concept in society.

I don't think that was the point of the article.

I don't see anywhere that anyone is saying that they didn't make a mistake. They drank too much of this stuff, and it sent them to the hospital, and the University wants to raise awareness around the campus of what these drinks can do.

Sounds to me as if the university is being responsible in this matter and making a push to send a message, not ban any drinks or parties. And by their doing so, maybe some of their students will know better and be a little more informed about these drinks.

~Bang

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Bang, the state Attorney General is calling for the banning of these drinks. To me, that's implicitly removing personal accountability from the students. See Stick's post...he drinks them but takes certain measures when doing so because he took 5 minutes to understand consequences.

[Mickalino]

But when I do drink it I...

.always drink on a full stomach

.don't consume any other alcohol for the rest of the night

.one can is the max

.drink gradually

So basically, you get no buzz at all from the drink

[DarrellsMyHero28]

Bang, the state Attorney General is calling for the banning of these drinks. To me, that's implicitly removing personal accountability from the students. See Stick's post...he drinks them but takes certain measures when doing so because he took 5 minutes to understand consequences.

These drinks are HORRIBLE for you.

Combining large amounts of alcohol and caffeine is terrible for your heart. If you choose to drink it so be it, its not like you can't go to a bar and order a Red Bull and vodka but there's a reason why drinks like Sparks were forced to remove the caffeine from their beverages.

Obviously you should be held responsible for your actions, and I don't think the company is necessarily being deceitful (I mean, who wants to drink something that tastes like the ****ty alcohol that they put in it? Isn't that the point of a mixed drink, to mask the taste of the bad liquor you're putting in it?) but at the same time these drinks are dangerous for your heart health.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

These drinks are HORRIBLE for you.

Combining large amounts of alcohol and caffeine is terrible for your heart. If you choose to drink it so be it, its not like you can't go to a bar and order a Red Bull and vodka but there's a reason why drinks like Sparks were forced to remove the caffeine from their beverages.

Obviously you should be held responsible for your actions, and I don't think the company is necessarily being deceitful (I mean, who wants to drink something that tastes like the ****ty alcohol that they put in it? Isn't that the point of a mixed drink, to mask the taste of the bad liquor you're putting in it?) but at the same time these drinks are dangerous for your heart health.

Maybe so, but why don't we ban cigarettes or Red Bulls or soda if we're going to start banning everything that's bad for you?

[Mickalino]

Combining large amounts of alcohol and caffeine is terrible for your heart.

A lot of mixed drinks are mixed with Coke, and if you multiply the caffeine in several Rum & Cokes, or Jack & Cokes, etc, it's almost the same thing.

[DarrellsMyHero28]

Maybe so, but why don't we ban cigarettes or Red Bulls or soda if we're going to start banning everything that's bad for you?

A) Red Bulls, without adding a depressant, are not that bad for you

Cigarettes will never be banned and you know that. BUT there are massive efforts from the government and private organizations to educate the public about the dangers of smoking. Same with drinking and driving, huffing household products etc etc. There's plenty of young people in the world that have no clue how awful it is to drink alcohol with energy drinks.

[DarrellsMyHero28]

A lot of mixed drinks are mixed with Coke, and if you multiply the caffeine in several Rum & Cokes, or Jack & Cokes, etc, it's almost the same thing.

True, but they're not sold in one can with a much higher amount of alcohol and caffeine. I'm not saying we should necessarily ban them but there needs to be an effort to educate people about the dangers of combining alcohol and caffeine in large quantities.

Obviously we can't just go willy nilly banning everything that may be bad for you...we'd run out of food but this stuff can give you a heart attack not to mention how extremely intoxicated it can get people because of its strong flavor (which I personally think is awful).

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Darrell, I see all your points and have no issues with the university making its students more aware. I have an issue with the Attorney General stepping in and banning something because those students didn't drink something responsibly. As Mick pointed out, this is not much different than mixing Red Bull and vodka. And, even if it is, it's certainly something that most of these kids must have known if they call it "blackout in a can" to begin with.

So again, I just get sick of the blame game that seems to be at play every time someone in this country does something that he or she regrets. Thankfully, it's not to the level that these things get at times and none of the parents are talking lawsuit against the company or something ridiculous like that.

[Bang]

Bang, the state Attorney General is calling for the banning of these drinks. To me, that's implicitly removing personal accountability from the students. See Stick's post...he drinks them but takes certain measures when doing so because he took 5 minutes to understand consequences.

The state's attorney sees a potentially dangerous drink being specifically marketed to young people, several of which have landed in the hospital. Sounds to me like he's doing his job of safeguarding the public.

I'm sure plenty of people in his state have landed drunk in jail or the hospital off of Jack Daniels, too. But he's not banning that. I'm certain every weekend people drinking beer kill innocents in his state with their cars, and he won't ban that. He's going after this fortified drink that tastes and looks like a kid's beverage that is being marketed to kids with one purpose, and that is to get them WAY ****ed up.

I've never drunk the stuff, but in reading the comments in this thread of those who have, it does sound like a pretty potent concoction made to look and taste like it's not.

Should we allow anything to be sold on the premise that if you're too stupid to use it, it's your own fault?

~Bang

[Skinz4Life12]

caffeine + alcohol is worse for you than each of those ingredients consumed seperately?

[TD_washingtonredskins]

The state's attorney sees a potentially dangerous drink being specifically marketed to young people, several of which have landed in the hospital. Sounds to me like he's doing his job of safeguarding the public.

I've never drunk the stuff, but in reading the comments in this thread of those who have, it does sound like a pretty potent concoction made to look and taste like it's not.

Should we allow anything to be sold on the premise that if you're too stupid to use it, it's your own fault?

~Bang

I too have never had it and don't really care if it's banned or taken off the market. But, if you do that, why do we sell cigarettes and grain alcohol and other things that have negative health impacts or are fine in moderation? Stickboi drinks the stuff and seems to have a handle on how to use it. The same could be said of someone who drinks 4 beers and calls it a night vs. polishing off a case of beer and passing out on the basement floor of a fraternity house.

I guess I just get sick of the "so-and-so went over the top and abused X so we're going to ban X even though the majority of people who eat/drink X are fine".

[DarrellsMyHero28]

Darrell, I see all your points and have no issues with the university making its students more aware. I have an issue with the Attorney General stepping in and banning something because those students didn't drink something responsibly. As Mick pointed out, this is not much different than mixing Red Bull and vodka. And, even if it is, it's certainly something that most of these kids must have known if they call it "blackout in a can" to begin with.

So again, I just get sick of the blame game that seems to be at play every time someone in this country does something that he or she regrets. Thankfully, it's not to the level that these things get at times and none of the parents are talking lawsuit against the company or something ridiculous like that.

Check out this link:

http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/energy-drink-lawsuit-sparks-998/

Sparks is essentially the same drink.

Of course you can mix Red Bull and Vodka but I mean you can go have surgery and get some Vicodin for it and then go to a kegger and get smashed. Or even something as seemingly painless as Sudafed or Advil, when combined with alcohol can really do some serious damage.

The state's attorney sees a potentially dangerous drink being specifically marketed to young people, several of which have landed in the hospital. Sounds to me like he's doing his job of safeguarding the public.

I'm sure plenty of people in his state have landed drunk in jail or the hospital off of Jack Daniels, too. But he's not banning that. He's going after this fortified drink that tastes and looks like a kid's beverage.

I've never drunk the stuff, but in reading the comments in this thread of those who have, it does sound like a pretty potent concoction made to look and taste like it's not.

Should we allow anything to be sold on the premise that if you're too stupid to use it, it's your own fault?

~Bang

I like this.

caffeine + alcohol is worse for you than each of those ingredients consumed seperately?

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking.

If you were to drink a bunch of liquor and then drink Red Bull it would obviously still be in your body at the same time...

[Skinz4Life12]

I'm asking if drinking a caffeine and alcohol drink (joose, sparks, four loko) is worse for you than drinking alcohol or caffeine seperately and not mixed

[generaltso]

The state's attorney sees a potentially dangerous drink being specifically marketed to young people, several of which have landed in the hospital. Sounds to me like he's doing his job of safeguarding the public.

I'm sure plenty of people in his state have landed drunk in jail or the hospital off of Jack Daniels, too. But he's not banning that. I'm certain every weekend people drinking beer kill innocents in his state with their cars, and he won't ban that. He's going after this fortified drink that tastes and looks like a kid's beverage that is being marketed to kids with one purpose, and that is to get them WAY ****ed up.

I've never drunk the stuff, but in reading the comments in this thread of those who have, it does sound like a pretty potent concoction made to look and taste like it's not.

Should we allow anything to be sold on the premise that if you're too stupid to use it, it's your own fault?

~Bang

then get them to change the packaging and make them follow the same rules that beer advertisers do.

[Mickalino]

I'm asking if drinking a caffeine and alcohol drink (joose, sparks, four loko) is worse for you than drinking alcohol or caffeine seperately and not mixed

You mean in separate drinks during the same drinking binge ?

or like on separate days, like a bunch of caffeine one day and a bunch of alcohol another day ?

[Skinz4Life12]

seperate days....like if you drink a **** load of alcohol by itself and then the next day drink a bunch of caffeine. how is that compared to drinking of bunch of alcohol and caffeine at the same time?

[DarrellsMyHero28]

I'm asking if drinking a caffeine and alcohol drink (joose, sparks, four loko) is worse for you than drinking alcohol or caffeine seperately and not mixed

Combining a stimulant and a depressant or an upper and a downer at the same time (whether its in the same drink or not) is always a bad idea when its in large quantities.

The amount of caffeine in a Coke or a Dr. Pepper or your run of the mill soda won't do anything and probably wouldn't hurt you even if you pounded Jack and Coke all night but a bunch of Sparks/4Lokos/Joose's can do some serious damage over time.

It doesn't matter if its in the same drink. If you were to take a very caffeinated beverage and a very alcoholic beverage and drink them in two separate containers but drink one right after the other you'd have the same result. Both substances are in your body at the same time.

[lovetoaster]

I'm asking if drinking a caffeine and alcohol drink (joose, sparks, four loko) is worse for you than drinking alcohol or caffeine seperately and not mixed

Yes. It is a stimulant and a depressant at the same time. You don't feel as impaired as you are until the caffeine wears off. Or at least that is how I understand it. But red bull and vodka or jager, or whatever essentially has the same effect. But you can't get that at your local 7-11.

[DarrellsMyHero28]

seperate days....like if you drink a **** load of alcohol by itself and then the next day drink a bunch of caffeine. how is that compared to drinking of bunch of alcohol and caffeine at the same time?

Drinking it the next day wouldn't be a problem. Honestly this stuff won't give you a heart attack in one night (well its not likely) but you'd be damaging your heart over time if you continued to do it on a regular basis.

So basically, you go out and get really ****ed up one night and need to drink a bunch of coffee the next day to stay awake? I wouldn't worry about it.

[Mickalino]

seperate days....like if you drink a **** load of alcohol by itself and then the next day drink a bunch of caffeine. how is that compared to drinking of bunch of alcohol and caffeine at the same time?

Definitely worse to mix it, for several reasons. For one, like the article says, the caffeine is countering your body's natural defense mechanisms (passing out) to protect you from dying from alcohol overdose. You're basically masking the symptoms of alcohol abuse with the caffeine to an extent, by adding the stimulant, so you're not truly aware of how much alcohol you've had. The sugar also masks the alcohol, but more-so masks it in the taste, as opposed to the symptoms.

And by drinking together, you're also compounding the effect on your heart and other organs....like a bad chemical reaction, as previously mentioned.

[Skinz4Life12]

good info there. obviously drinking alcohol is bad for you, but in moderation its nothing to be overly concerned about. is the same thing true for caffeine? can you be a regular coffee drinker and not worry about negative effects on your body?

[DarrellsMyHero28]

good info there. obviously drinking alcohol is bad for you, but in moderation its nothing to be overly concerned about. is the same thing true for caffeine? can you be a regular coffee drinker and not worry about negative effects on your body?

You'd have to drink an obscenely high amount of coffee for it to be a serious health threat.

[lovetoaster]

You'd have to drink an obscenely high amount of coffee for it to be a serious health threat.

I would not go that far. Caffeine is a pretty bad thing for the body. I have had a few friends that did not drink coffee, but would drink a lot of diet cokes and stuff like that and red bull and vodka at when going out that have ended up at the hospital. Two friends thought they were having heart attacks when the doctor just told them they ingest too much caffeine. Everything else checked out perfectly, and they have cut down their caffeine and are fine.

[DarrellsMyHero28]

I would not go that far. Caffeine is a pretty bad thing for the body. I have had a few friends that did not drink coffee, but would drink a lot of diet cokes and stuff like that and red bull and vodka at when going out that have ended up at the hospital. Two friends thought they were having heart attacks when the doctor just told them they ingest too much caffeine. Everything else checked out perfectly, and they have cut down their caffeine and are fine.

Interesting.

I don't drink much but I know quite a few people who are coffee/tea/soda-aholics and have had zero health implications.

Even my mom, who has a very weak heart has asked her heart doc about caffeine and he basically said not to worry about it.