post about a thread in the news section

[Exylos]

Ok i cannot post there because i don't have enough of a post count.

The thread i mean is this one.

FDA claims caffeine is unsafe additive in drinks


Now my problem with this is this line in the article.

Experts have raised concerns that caffeine can mask some of the sensory cues individuals might normally rely on to determine their level of intoxication. The FDA said peer-reviewed studies suggest that the consumption of beverages containing added caffeine and alcohol is associated with risky behaviors that may lead to hazardous and life-threatening situations.


Now if I am understanding this right, the public health concerns that they are worried about are things I may do myself because of the mix of caffeine and Alcohol, not that the combination itself can kill me, but that i may decide to do something while impaired. Ok correct me if I am wrong but isn't the FDA supposed to protect people from things that cause a health risk, and not protect me from something I may do, isn't that why we have law enforcement?

 

[phorbin]

on the one hand, the FDA is simply flexing its muscle as it sometimes likes to do (as if the attempt to ban the import of PVs from China didn't tell us that already)

on the other hand I have a problem condemning them for this one. As a long time employee of the adult beverage industry I think the drinks that were being targeted, like FourLOCO, are products that are just simply over the top. Not only did one can have the equivalent of about 4 beers and 3 cups of coffee, but the companies making these products were marketing their products in a way which encouraged binge drinking. There have been at least 3 incidents in my tiny little neck of the woods of kids ending up in hospitals getting their stomachs pumped because of these drinks. There is a reason fans of FourLOCO call the stuff "blackout in a can".

More to your point though, the FDA, while having the right idea about these particular drinks IMO, have really gone about it all wrong. I don't know why they are focusing on the combination of caffeine and alcohol, they should be focused on HOW MUCH alchohol by volume is in them, and how they are being marketed. If caffeine and alcohol are a bad mix, is the FDA now going to ban the making of Rum and Coke too? They once again have failed to really see the real issue here.

 

[Exylos]

That is kinda my point, mixed drinks have been around for a long time. I am a recovering alcoholic and my drink of choice was Mexican volcanoes, for those of you who do not know, it's Tequila and red bull, you drop the shot glass of tequila in the redbull and drink fast.

While yes the drinks may be dangerous, but the way they are wording it, instead of the alcohol content, or the amount of Caffeine in it they are generalizing, so in the end if it's aloud they could literally make any drink that puts caffeine in it with alcohol, No rum and coke, No vodka and red bull, the possibilities are endless, now I am alcoholic as I said, but I do not believe that just because on that subject i cannot handle alcohol, that should not mean that you not be aloud to do as you please as long as you are with in the law.

Or am I misunderstanding this, and feel free to scream you are just being overly paranoid exylos, it does happen...lol

 

[phorbin]

paranoid? nah not at all. My point was, while I do think these products should be off the market (or at least reformulated to tame them down a bit), I totally agree with you about how the FDA is handling it very poorly.

 

[OldDragon]

phorbin - clicked on your sig at the bottom of your message, took me to the somewithoutfire web page, when I started to close the page, I got some stuff that did somesort of virus scan - not cool - you may want to check it out.

 

[phorbin]

should have taken you here: Electronic Cigarette Savings Banner Tool - Smoke Without Fire

I haven't had any problems and have a background virus scanner running all day, firewalls and the whole bit. However if you continue to have problems with the site please let me know.