MillerCoors has agreed to remove caffeine and other stimulants from its line of alcoholic energy drinks, Sparks. The agreement, announced on December 18th, was reached with the attorneys general of 13 states, including Maine’s AG Steve Rowe.
The attorneys general accused MillerCoors of marketing the Sparks alcoholic energy drink to minors and implying that alcoholic energy drinks allow users to stay awake longer, allowing them to drink more. Despite the agreement, MillerCoors maintains that the accusations of marketing to underage drinkers were “inaccurate.”
“Attorneys general from around the country are gravely concerned about premixed alcoholic energy drinks because these products are dangerous and look and taste like popular nonalcoholic energy drinks,” said Maine Attorney General Steve Rowe. “They’re popular with young people who wrongly believe that the caffeine will counteract the intoxicating effects of the alcohol.”
This is the second victory for the 13 AGs. Earlier this year, Anheuser-Busch agreed to take caffeine and stimulants out of its Tilt and Bud Extra brands of alcoholic drinks. (Read Anheuser-Busch Stops Production of Alcoholic Energy Drinks)
Read More
From the Portland Press Herald: Alcoholic energy drink to drop caffeine
From JoinTogether.org: MillerCoors Agrees to Stop Selling Alcoholic Energy Drinks
From this blog: More articles on the controversy around alcoholic energy drinks
technorati tags: Sparks, MillerCoors, alcoholic energy drinks, attorneys general
