Aug. 15--Drinks such as Sparks, Tilt and Rockstar 21 are packaged and marketed like the energy beverages they are, with one major difference.
In addition to caffeine, they contain alcohol.
The drinks have been popular among the under-rested, over-partied college set since they appeared on the market a few years ago.
But their parents might not know that alcoholic energy drinks even exist. A spokesman for the Ohio Division of Liquor Control didn't, when asked to discuss them recently.
Some say teens, not adults, are the targets of marketing efforts for these products, whose alcohol content ranges from 6 percent to 10 percent.
"Obviously, we don't have the internal memos to prove it, but we have some pretty strong indicators," said Michele Simon, research and policy director for the Marin Institute, a California-based watchdog group focused on the alcohol industry.
A report issued this month by the group says that alcohol companies mimic marketing strategies used to sell nonalcoholic energy beverages, popular among teenagers.
For example, tech-savvy consumers can spread the word about Tilt by downloading ringtones, screensavers and text-messaging icons from the Anheuser-Busch Web site.
And Tilt, like other alcoholic energy drinks, comes in a slender, silver can that looks a lot like those used by its nonalcoholic cousins.
"The way these things are packaged, you can pick something up that has alcohol in it and not even know it," said Doug Scoles, executive director for the Ohio chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
That's one of Simon's fears. She's seen messages on the networking Web site Facebook in which high-school students say they keep alcoholic energy drinks in their rooms because their parents don't recognize them as such.
Asked about the packaging of their products, Anheuser-Busch, which makes Tilt, and Miller Brewing Co., the maker of Sparks, issued statements condemning underage drinking and saying that the contents of their drinks are clearly labeled.
Rockstar and United Brands, which make Rockstar 21 and Joose, respectively, did not respond to repeated requests for interviews about their products.
Teenagers have to obtain alcoholic energy drinks as they would beer, wine or liquor -- illegally.
Kim Tran, a clerk at Patio Liquor, Beer & Wine on the Northeast Side, said not many teenagers have attempted to purchase energy drinks, which are kept next to the beer in the back of the store. Customers must show an ID just to enter that area.
At most stores selling alcohol, scanners immediately alert cashiers to ask the buyer for identification, said Tom Hunter, communication director for the Ohio Investigative Unit, enforcement arm of the Department of Public Safety. The unit hasn't had significant issues with stores selling alcoholic energy drinks to minors, he said.
Still, Tom Jackson, president of the Ohio Grocers Association, said he plans to put a warning about the drinks in his weekly e-mail to members. He hadn't heard of the products until asked about them.
"If I'm buying a six-pack of beer, I know it's beer," Jackson said. "But sometimes when you have crossover products that look like other products, it can be confusing to a cashier."
The Marin Institute wants the drinks labeled more clearly to explain their contents as well as the dangers of mixing alcohol and caffeine.
Messages such as, "You can sleep when you're 30," an advertising slogan for the caffeine-laced beer Bud Extra, encourage consumers to stay up and drink all night, Simon said.
"The best thing that can happen to anyone who drinks too much is they pass out and don't get into a car," she said. "The problem is when someone stays up because of the caffeine and thinks they're OK."
asaunders@dispatch.com
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