Following an incident at Ramapo College in New Jersey last month whereby students were hospitalized after consuming Four Loko, the president of the college has ordered to ban it as well as other similar beverages. He has also urged other colleges and the state authorities to take similar measures.
"There's no redeeming social purpose to be served by having the beverage”, said President Peter Mercer on Monday.
Speaking of energy drinks, spokesperson for National Alcohol Beverage Control, Steven Schmidt, said that they have “higher levels of alcohol content in them, higher levels of caffeine in them”, while adding, "There's a lot of concern about whether combining these two is a good idea”.
Mercer, who is in charge of a state-run arts college in northern New Jersey, has quickly gained the reputation of being a strong opponent of boozy energy drinks.
He said that he will do everything possible to push lawmakers in New Jersey to approve a bill presented by Republican Mary Pat Angelini that calls for a complete ban on these products- something that other states haven’t done, though some of them have taken measures to limit consumption.
Energy drinks have recently risen to popularity in college campuses, according to Schmidt, and more states are now considering options to deal with them.
Watchdogs
in Michigan have recently started a review of the beverages’ labels.
Those that fail to clearly state the percentage of alcohol could be
ordered to be taken off shop shelves. Other states, including Utah and Montana, have taken action to limit access to the beverages.
