Massachusetts authorities are moving to restrict sales of alcoholic beverages containing caffeine and other stimulants, which includes Four Loko.
Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) Chairman Kim Gainsboro said the ABCC will file an emergency regulation next Monday to restrict sales of caffeinated malt beverages containing alcohol. The ban extends to any alcoholic malt beverage containing caffeine or any herbal stimulant, the Associated Press reported tonight.
Under the emergency regulation, wine and malt beverage vendors would be prohibited from selling caffeinated alcoholic beverages, and beverage manufacturers would be required to introduce redesigned, resealable containers and revised labels, according to the report.
Students reacted to the news with skepticism. "It seems like it doesn't really make a difference because you can still buy a Red Bull and alcohol and mix them together," sophomore Maya Sussman said. "It doesn't really change anything."
"I definitely think that it will limit some of the craziness at Tufts, unfortunately. Four Loko had a good run," senior Evan Chasan said.
Others called for an alternative approach. "I remember my freshman year. I never went out and chugged four Red Bulls and took six shots and expected to have a tame night. I think the source of the problem is that freshmen are unaware of what a Four Loko entails," junior L.A. Creech said. "There needs to be Four Loko education rather than prohibition, because prohibition will only mask the issue rather than solving it."
An employee of Hillside Wine and Spirits on Boston Avenue, a purveyor of Four Loko, declined to comment last night.
—by Matt Repka, with reporting by Alexandra Husted and Zehava Robbins
