Potent alcoholic beverages look like soda pop, target young drinkers

Blast by Colt 45 recently has drawn criticism for supposedly targeting marketing for its brighly colored and fruity-flavored malt beverage at younger crowds. Experts from Indiana University School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation share their perspectives on the issue.

It works every time?

The marketing and rebranding efforts for the fruity flavored malt beverage "Blast by Colt 45," referred to as "binge in a can" by its critics, are "irresponsible" from a health perspective but admittedly effective, says Antonio Williams, a fitness and marketing expert in Indiana University's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

"It looks like soda pop," Williams said of the beverage, which packs an alcohol concentration of 12 percent in its colorful 23.5-ounce cans. "It clearly looks like soda pop. Also the use of Snoop Dogg, a hugely successful hip-hop artist and music industry mogul, tells me where they're going."

The brewing controversy surrounding the drink has made more people aware of it -- for better or for worse. Williams said Snoop Dogg's pitching brings to mind the successful campaigns in the 1980s that had actor Billy Dee Williams pitching Colt 45, with the slogan "It works every time." Those were controversial, too, because of their focus on urban African Americans. Snoop Dogg, says IU's Williams, will also appeal to urban African Americans but also taps white suburban hip-hop fans, making him an effective pitchman for the under 32 market.

"We wouldn't be having this conversation if the branding wasn't so cleverly targeted to appeal to teens and young adults," Williams said. "If they were targeting adults over 25, or if it was a premium packaged champagne that had a higher than normal alcoholic content, for example, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

The issue isn't the alcohol percentage, but rather, the branding and image of the product. Williams says the alcohol content and health risks should be clearly marked on the beverage cans and that store clerks need to be vigilant about checking IDs. Parents play the most important role in minimizing the risk to underage drinkers, he said, urging parents to become familiar with Blast and similar drinks.

"I'm more afraid of parents not being aware," he said. "I can easily see it being passed as a soda pop -- a kid walking through the home with that in his hand and the parents not being aware."  

Stronger restrictions on marketing to youth needed.

Despite the widespread concern by public health authorities and even some state legislatures over the proliferation of 'alcopops,' -- brightly packaged beverages that combine high concentrations of alcohol with sweet flavors and are thought to target teen-agers -- the beverage and marketing trend seems far from subsiding.

"These drinks are being marketed to younger consumers who may not be of legal drinking age. Some of these consumers might be under the impression that these drinks have less alcohol content and that the addition of caffeine makes them somehow safer. This can lead to increased consumption of alcohol with the perception that activities such as driving are safer than they actually are," said Courtney Stewart, research associate at the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

• Background: The effects of mixing alcohol and energy drinks are not fully known due to a lack of research on the topic. High doses of caffeine can result in increased anxiety, panic attacks, rise in blood pressure, insomnia and bowel irritability. The herbal ingredients in these energy drinks have not been fully researched, either, and could be risky when mixed with alcohol. Energy drinks have caffeine as their primary ingredient as well as other stimulants such as guarana, an herbal stimulant which enhances the effect of caffeine. Sparks, Joose and Torque are examples of caffeine drinks that are pre-mixed with alcohol. Blast, a new malt liquor beverage being marketed by Pabst Brewing Co., contains 12 percent alcohol by volume and is sold in 23.5-ounce cans.

Stewart said she is particularly concerned by the high alcohol content and the size of these drinks -- one can of Blast has as much alcohol as four 12-ounce bottles of beer. "There need to be stronger restrictions on the marketing of 'alcopops' and malt liquor beverages to youth," she said.

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Center for Alcohol Policy Republishes Toward Liquor Control

Original Work on State Alcohol Regulation Returns to Circulation

The Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) is excited to announce the republication of Raymond B. Fosdick's and Albert L. Scott's, Toward Liquor Control, which has been out of circulation for more than 50 years.  

In 1933, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. commissioned Fosdick and Scott to study alcohol regulation and prepare America for the return of legal alcohol and its regulation following the passage of the 21st Amendment which ended Prohibition. They produced Toward Liquor Control, a work that still shapes alcohol policy in America to this day.  

"The republication of Toward Liquor Control is an opportunity for today's citizens to understand many of the origins of modern alcohol regulation in the United States," said CAP Advisory Council member and former police chief and alcohol regulator Jerry Oliver. "As Prohibition was coming to an end, this book was one of the key documents influencing how the country would deal with alcoholic beverages going forward. Its content is just as important today as when it was written."  

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. notes in the foreword of the book, "If carefully laid plans of control are not made, the old evils against which prohibition was invoked can easily return." The following report by Fosdick and Scott advised how to avoid returning to the corruptions of the pre-Prohibition era and provided the template for alcohol control policy that the states ultimately followed.  

The CAP is republishing Toward Liquor Control with permission in order to provide those interested in effective state-based alcohol regulation with a historical perspective and an understanding of why the system remains important today.  

Toward Liquor Control reminds readers of the challenges associated with alcohol, sales and consumption before Prohibition and how today's state-based regulatory system was established to encourage responsible alcohol consumption and promote competition while maintaining public health and safety.

Look for sales of the reprinted book on the Center for Alcohol Policy Web site coming soon.

Source: CAP

Pennsylvania: Senators Call Liquor Kiosk Plan 'Premature'

A pair of state senators is denouncing a plan to add liquor to the wine kiosks set up by the state last year.

Democratic Senator Jim Ferlo says the legislature wasn't told about the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board pilot program, even during lengthy discussions about modernizing the state store system.

Ferlo and Republican Senator John Pippy co-chair the committee that oversees the Liquor Code. Both disagree with the proposal.

Ferlo says now is not the time for this plan, since wine kiosks are producing weak sales and the LCB itself is under pressure.

"We know the governor and many in the House, the Republican majority, are pushing the complete elimination of the state store system, which to me is financially foolhardy," says Ferlo. "We have a great state store system which generates hundreds of millions of dollars back to the state government, and we have a controlled system."

Ferlo says while wine is appropriate in a grocery store setting, liquor is not. He says he's also concerned about minors gaining access to hard liquor through this plan.

The Allegheny County Democrat says the idea to put liquor at kiosks should first be vetted through the legislature and the public before being implemented. The pilot program would launch in a few months.  

Source: DUQ

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