It’s the biggest news since twinkies went away.
But not all is lost. Despite the obvious lack of education when it comes to alcohol in Amerca (proof being that the legal drinking age in Europe is 18 and there are way fewer car accidents related to drinking and driving), Attorney General Cuomo said:
“Drinks like Sparks encourage the polar opposite of responsible drinking habits. Besides being aggressively marketed to a younger crowd, they are fundamentally dangerous and put drinkers of all ages at risk. Today’s agreement will ensure that from here on out, these drinks are kept off New York shelves and away from New York consumers.”
A recently published Wake Forest University study found that college students who mix alcohol and energy drinks were more likely to be hurt, sexually assaulted or drive drunk than those who only drank alcohol.
In May, Attorney General Cuomo announced that Anheuser-Busch would stop producing alcoholic energy drinks, including Tilt and Bud Extra. With the elimination of Sparks from the market, nearly 85% of all alcoholic energy drinks that were available at the start of this year will be eliminated from the market. Attorney General Cuomo is continuing to work with other jurisdictions to investigate alcoholic energy drinks manufactured by other companies.
MillerCoors Sparks, however, in statement today announced it will remove caffeine and three other ingredients from its Sparks alcoholic energy drink in a deal with 13 states and the city of San Francisco, who had contended the drink targeted young drinkers.
So the wealthier corporations lose but still win. Funny isn’t it.
