Feb 8, 2008 10:18 pm US/Central
'Alcopops' The Latest Trend In Underage Drinking
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
Energy drinks are becoming so common that many parents do not look twice when they see kids drinking them. However, child advocates are saying that adults should start paying closer attention because some of those drinks contain alcohol.
Not every drink contains alcohol though, and all of the cans look very similar. This has made energy drinks the alcoholic beverage of choice for many kids, according to experts. So-called 'alcopops' are a hot trend in underage drinking.
Kids also said that these energy drinks containing alcohol are easier to obtain than beer or tequila. "It's not hard at all," said one kid.
"Adults have to know what the problem is," said Nicole Holt, executive director of Texans Standing Tall.
"I didn't know that the energy drinks came with alcohol," said Jamie Jewell, a concerned parent. She first learned about the threat at a forum in Dallas this past week.
Substance abuse experts said that the drinks are marketed in a way that is appealing to kids. Look at the
official site for the Miller Brewing Company's Sparks alcoholic energy drink. It is designed to look like a student notebook.
Experts said that young people are buying into the advertising, posting pictures and videos of themselves online, posing with the drinks and looking for other 'Sparkaholics' who want to get hyper and drunk.
A lab tested the Sparks brand for alcohol and caffeine content, and found that drinking three cans of the 'alcopop' would be the same as drinking five shots of whiskey and 18 cans of Diet Pepsi.
"The caffeine masks the effects of the alcohol, and so they're a wide awake drunk," Holt said.
The worst part, according to experts, is that you do not know exactly what the beverage is by looking at the label. "We believe that they should be more clearly labeled, in such a way that you could distinguish the difference between them," Holt said.
The Miller Brewing Company said that it does its own undercover work to make sure that kids are not buying the alcoholic energy drinks, including sending young people into liquor stores to make sure that clerks ask buyers for identification.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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