Warning to parents: Caffeine beverages with alcohol could pass for those without, group says

The graphics on cans of Tilt and Sparks are slick and colorful, the taste is sweet and the package lists caffeine, guarana and ginseng.

But Tilt and Sparks have an ingredient that similar-looking caffeinated drinks such as Amp and Rockstar don't have: alcohol, in concentration of 6 percent to 8 percent by volume, which is more than many popular beers.

"Kids could accidentally pick one up and drink it. Or they could drink it on purpose to try to sneak it by their parents," said Pam Darby, coordinator of the Washington State Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking. The alcoholic beverages have come on the market in the past few years as energy drinks, which were introduced in the mid-1990s, have gained popularity.

The nonalcoholic energy drinks, which have names such as Full Throttle, Jolt and 180, are beverages marketed as increasing energy. They often tout ingredients such as taurine and guarana, which are thought to increase alertness, as caffeine does.

Energy drinks have more caffeine than most other soft drinks and about the same amount as coffee, according to Consumer Reports. A 16-ounce container is the equivalent of two regular-sized cups of coffee.

A few companies are capitalizing on the fad with alcoholic versions of the drinks. In 2005, Anheuser-Busch acquired Tilt and Miller Brewing Co. acquired Sparks, both caffeinated alcoholic drinks found in grocery and convenience stores.

Though neither drink claims to enhance energy on the package, both list guarana and ginseng as ingredients, similar to energy drinks.

"The cans are very similar-looking," said J. Ryan Shannon, spokesman for state Attorney General Rob McKenna. "We're definitely concerned about the messages they're using. We are directly concerned about the marketing of it."

Darby thinks the marketing is aimed at minors.

"Most adults, if they want to drink, could just buy alcohol," she said.

Makers of the drinks say they encourage stores to prevent sales to minors and that they are aiming at a different demographic.

Julian Green, a spokesman for Miller, said Sparks is marketed to the 27-year-old "anti-corporate consumer."

The company encourages merchants to avoid calling Sparks an energy drink and to display it near other alcoholic drinks, he said.

Carol Clark, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility at Anheuser-Busch, which makes Tilt, said preventing minors from buying alcohol is more effective than regulating the marketing of drinks.

In August, a coalition of state attorneys general asked the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to investigate whether the manufacturers are making misleading health-related statements through their advertising and packaging.

The bureau also is considering a standardized label for alcohol, similar to a nutrition label, that would disclose the amount of alcohol by volume.

Masking the buzz

Caffeine, a stimulant, might mask the feeling of being drunk from alcohol, a depressant, but it doesn't cancel out the other effects of alcohol, said Jim Cooper, program manager at Together. Those include impaired reaction and poor decision-making,

"We call it 'wide-awake drunk,' " Cooper said.

Because a drinker might not feel drunk, he or she might drink more to get a buzz, he said.

A study released in November by the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center concluded that students who mixed alcohol with caffeinated energy drinks were at a higher risk of being injured or of committing or being a victim of sexual crimes, compared with students who drink alcohol without energy drinks.

"They can't tell if they're drunk; they can't tell if someone else is drunk," said a news release about the study. "So they get hurt, or they hurt someone else."

Venice Buhain covers education for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5445 or vbuhain@theolympian.com.