FDA Going Loko
On Wednesday, the FDA issued an ultimatum: the manufacturers of alcoholic energy drinks (e.g. Four Loko) have 15 days to create a plan to remove the caffeine from their drinks, or risk prosecution. Adam Freedman has already commented on the ineptitude of the government’s decision, but I’d go further and contend that the decision is one that transcends stupidity and reveals an inappropriate abuse of authoritative power.
In a classic case of government micromanagement, the FDA has resorted to employing scare tactics by characterizing the mixture of caffeine and alcohol as a new, untested combination that is certain to bring ruin to our nation’s youth.
Newsflash, nanny state! Ever heard of a rum and Coke? How about Irish coffee? Consider the fact that Four Loko, the FDA’s new whipping boy, was reviewed and fully approved by the TTB.
Even so, the FDA and the FTC are both poised and ready to strike. Disappointingly, albeit unsurprisingly, Phusion Products, the manufacturer of Four Loko, has already bent to the government’s will and issued a press release agreeing to remove caffeine, taurine, and guarana from its products.
I don’t dispute that the reckless consumption of caffeine and alcohol is a dangerous undertaking. However, the FDA’s decision to insert itself into the situation and play the role of judge, jury, and executioner by forcing these products off the market is as unwarranted as it is condescendingly paternalistic.
By all means, the government should make it clear when it deems a product potentially unsafe. Moreover the scientists behind these government studies should make an effort to educate the public on their findings. However, the government seriously oversteps its boundaries when it takes such strong action against a product that is of no inherent danger when consumed responsibly.
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Comments :
Oct '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
Here's a question. There are countless upon countless studies making statistically significant associations between smoking tobacco and cancer. I would say based on this fact that use of cigarettes/cigars/pipes/etc is a "dangerous undertaking." Why is the FDA not stepping in on this case if the merits seem similar (the government protecting those individuals that are choosing to do something potentially detrimental to their health)?
Edited on Nov 20, 2010 at 7:58amRe: FDA Going Loko
One of the first things the new Congress should undertake, even before the new drapes are hung, is to declaw, defang and defund the administrative branch of government.
Aug '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
http://www.theroot.com/views/four-loko-hysteria-smack-classism
Here is a priceless response from the Root, a black blog brought to you by Henry Louis Gates and others. They are complaining that by focusing on Four Loko the government is being classist ( which I guess means racist by cocktails).
You can't make this stuff up ! They complain that the government should be going after Red Bull and Vodka, which evidently is the whiter or more upwardly mobile drink.
Back to another wonderful argument: crack cocaine sentences were too harsh because powder cocaine sentences were usually lesser. Imagine inventing crack cocaine to kill people and then oversentence them ! Those CIA guys are just too mean.
We are waiting for higher fines for speeding Escalades than speeding (but straining ) Priuses .
Waiter,please ! Another Vouvray and get my driver a White Zin.
Edited on Nov 20, 2010 at 9:20amMay '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
The real story here is not that government is overstepping its bounds but that citizens are helpless to do anything about it. We're relying on the very people who got us into this mess (politicians) to get us out of it; calling on government to protect us from itself. That's a position of weakness.
I know, I know. What's the alternative? But that's my point.
Aug '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
Aaron Miller:
What's the alternative?
The alternative is to do what Dave said, defang it, destroy it, deregulate almost everything. Let the market sort it out, get rid of the plaintiff's attorneys. If somebody gets hurt on a ladder, less people will buy that ladder and it will solve itself. The gene pool has it's own darwinist tendencies to reward the smart and winnow out the stupid.
Let me quote Reid Buckley from an interview he did the other day :
" ...the indispensible social unit in any republic has to be the family and that the family has to be made responsible for its members. In other words, sons and daughters should be responsible for their aging parents. Their parents should be responsible for their sons and daughters.
If any member of that family becomes ill, the other members of that family should be the first people to respond, not the federal government, not even the state.
If someone happens to be so unfortunate as to be completely alone, then we should rely on the church, the community hall, the county... "
There are plenty of departments we can lose without noticing it. All those smart people in Washington.......... ?
Edited on Nov 20, 2010 at 10:28amOct '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
How would Rand Paul's proposal about having the Congress approve regulations put in place after two years address the declawing, defanging, and defunding? I do not know a lot about it but it seems like it might be in the vein of suggestions here.
What are some other ways that the legislative branch can reign in executive power abuses?
Nov '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
There's no question that DC overstepped its bounds, but maybe its worthwhile to pick apart the process?
The media exploded within the past few months with news of the drinks. Most of the coverage I saw was alarmist and shallow--this goes for both the completely unnecessary front-page coverage in the NY Times as well as the job Fox did "looking out for our kids." I first saw Sparks, another malt-alcohol energy drink, at a local store around three years ago; the beverage hit the US market as early as 2002. Given how long these things had existed with little to no controversy, I think it's fair to say that the whole to-do originates in media contrivance--a scare sells papers.
Once American parents were sufficiently convinced that the beverages would single-handedly tear apart society, my guess is that one of two things happened:
Neither possibility justifies the outcome, but at the very least it's an example of how things seem to happen all-too-often these days.
Edited on Nov 20, 2010 at 11:54amMay '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
Aq
Sep '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
S.A. Ticker: Once American parents were sufficiently convinced that the beverages would single-handedly tear apart society, my guess is that one of two things happened:
Neither possibility justifies the outcome, but at the very least it's an example of how things seem to happen all-too-often these days. · Nov 20 at 11:50am
Edited on Nov 20 at 11:54 am
or, 3) The FDA saw another opportunity to justify its existence by flexing its muscle. As a pharmacist, I see the FDA doing this a lot. (con't)
Sep '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
(Con't)
For instance, it is now more difficult to buy the nasal decongestant Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) --out of which methamphetamine, or meth can be made--than it is to buy alcohol.
Many states have created databases (other states are working on them) to facilitate enforcing the limits placed on those who buy too much Sudafed. An older, inferior product, phenylephrine (Sudafed PE) is now the only oral nasal decongestant available over the counter without the buyer having to be 18, show ID, etc. (Unintended consequence--Sudafed PE has worse blood pressure increasing side effects and the decongestant effect does not last a long as plain Sudafed).
To be consistent, the FDA now needs to regulate alcohol as a drug and mandate the tracking, through similar databases, of everyone's alcohol purchases.
The topic is related to the fascinating subject of the re-legalization of drugs, which is for another day, but my point is, where does it end?
Edited on Nov 20, 2010 at 6:12pmAug '10
Re: FDA Going Loko
Adam Schwartzman, Intern:
Newsflash, nanny state! Ever heard of a rum and Coke? How about Irish coffee?
Also good... pretty much any kind of good-tasting tea with pretty much any compatible spirit (originally, punch was tea + alcohol + decorations) -- oh, and desserts combining coffee and spirits -- yum!
I see that some people mentioned their favorite alcohol + caffeine combos in the comments of Adam Freeman's original post. But perhaps a recipe exchange a la Ursula is in order here?:
In honor of the FDA's paternalism, I nominate tiramisu ice-cream made with liquid nitrogen. Not only does it contain espresso (caffeine!), rum (alcohol!!), and Kahlúa (both, great flaming gum-balls!!!), but LN2 safety is ever-so-slightly tricky, so maybe it'll worry the folks at OSHA, too. (Just a side benefit.)
Especially when the LN2's being wielded by drunken engineering students (which is where I learned). Save Our Children!