After several students were hospitalized, Ramapo College President Peter Mercer has banned caffeinated alcoholic beverages like "Four Loko" and "Joose" from his campus. Smart move.

We first wrote about alcoholic energy drinks (AEDs) back in July when U.S. Senator Charles Schumer called on the Federal Trade Commission to launch a full-blown investigation into AEDs. In his letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, he outlined his "grave concern" over the promotion of caffeine-infused, flavored malt beverages like Joose and Four Loko.

"The style and promotion of these products is extremely troubling," Schumer wrote in his letter.  "Frankly, it looks to me as if manufacturers are trying to mislead adults and business owners who sell these products, while at the same time actively courting underage drinkers. This type of marketing is, at minimum, grossly irresponsible."

Both Joose - which trumpets its 12% alcohol content - and Four Loko market their products aggressively via their websites and social networking websites such as Facebook.

Here are a few actual entries from the official Four Loko Facebook page collected yesterday:

"This drink is a blackout in a can....remember I had 6 at one point..."

New Jersey Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini is ready to take  the ban statewide and has proposed a bill that would ban the sale of AEDs in New Jersey. Here's a link to her bill introduced last week. Absent federal action on these dangerous products, New York State should enact a ban on AEDs.