Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, joined by 28 attorneys general, urged Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. to overhaul its promotion and production of "Spykes" and other caffeinated alcoholic drinks that appeal to underage drinkers.
In a letter to Anheuser-Busch, the attorneys general said that medical doctors and public health professionals have warned that combining nonalcoholic, caffeinated energy drinks with alcohol - a practice popular among youth - poses significant health and safety risks.
The drinks appeal to youth, and the stimulant in the energy drink may skew the consumer's sense of alertness - without ameliorating the adverse effect of alcohol on motor skills or ability to react.
Anheuser-Busch's caffeinated alcoholic beverages include Spykes, TILT and Bud Extra. Blumenthal called Spykes, in particular, a youth "starter drink."
Recently, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau also found that several Spykes labels violate federal law because the print is too small. Anheuser-Busch had agreed to stop production and replace product labels, but containers with the improperly sized print remained available in Connecticut this week.
"This caffeinated alcoholic beverage is one of an insidious new generation of starter drinks - luring underage drinkers with caffeine, fruit and chocolate flavors and cute, hip packaging," Blumenthal said. "The bottles are easily hidden and affordable, readily sneaked into proms, movie theaters or parties.
"Spykes is double trouble - alcohol and caffeine combined in large doses to create a high energy rush with the illusion of alertness when drinkers are impaired. In its ingredients, Internet messages, flavors of fruit and chocolate and miniature bottles - Spykes flagrantly appeals to youth palates and youth culture. With Spykes marketing and promotion, Anheuser-Busch belies the fight against underage drinking and its own public pitch to 'drink responsibly.'
"Spykes plainly and perniciously appeals to children in both flavor and packaging - and its caffeine content dangerously and falsely masks the effects of alcohol. If Anheuser-Busch wants to be a partner in fighting underage drinking, it must stop pitching its drinks to underage youth."
These caffeinated alcoholic drinks particularly appeal to youth in several ways.
Spykes, for example, is available only in fruit and chocolate flavors, and comes in tiny, attractive containers that can be easily concealed in a pocket or purse. Advertisements for Spykes, TILT and Bud Extra also tout their caffeine content and other additives that youth are likely to associate with popular nonalcoholic energy drinks.
Designated as a flavored malt beverage, Spykes and similar drinks can be sold inexpensively and - in Connecticut - distributed to grocery stores and convenience stores, where they may be more readily seen and purchased by underage youth than if they were sold only in liquor stores. Spykes contains 12 percent alcohol by volume - more than twice that of most alcoholic malt beverages.
Despite recent claims by Anheuser-Busch, these beverages have been found available for purchase online.
Blumenthal demanded immediate action by Anheuser-Busch, including development of a responsible marketing plan to warn about the risks of mixing energy drinks with alcohol and larger containers to allow more legible warning displays and to deter concealment by underage youth.
Blumenthal also said Anheuser-Bush should employ effective age-verification methods on the company's websites, and ensure that their carriers verify age in delivering remote-sale purchases in order to prevent underage access to alcohol, Blumenthal said.
View the letter to Anheuser-Bush - (PDF-180KB)
