News Feature Story
The consumption of energy-drink style beverages with high alcohol contents has significantly increased in Pullman over the last year, according to local businesses.
The most popular brand of these kinds of drinks, Four Loko, has an alcohol content of 12 percent and is full of stimulants like caffeine. These drinks come only in 24 ounce cans, and Washington State University students can’t seem to get enough of them.
“People will come in and buy them by the case,” said Ryan Jones, a senior management operations major and employee of Bobs Corner Market for 3 years. “It’s not uncommon for them to run out at the warehouse, sometimes I think they just can’t keep up.”
These kinds of drinks with large amounts of alcohol and caffeine can have different effects on the human body then beer or even liquor. When people drink large amounts of alcohol and couple it with large amounts of stimulants like those found in Four Loko, they tend to think they are less drunk then they really are.
“Alcohol is a depressant, so usually you tend to get tired with more consumption,” said Steven Hansen, a Washington State University police lieutenant. “These [Four Loko] styles of drinks though counter-act that, and allow people to consume more because of how it affects them physically.”
This effect allows a person to drink large amounts of a Four Loko or similar beverage and not feel as drunk as they are in reality, and this seems to be one of the reasons that WSU students enjoy drinking them so much.
“Oh Four Lokos are my favorite way to pre-funk for sure,” said Ryan Davis, a senior communications major at WSU. “They’re easy to drink and get you going for the night.”
Coupling high alcohol contents and stimulants the way that Four Lokos and similar drinks do can easily set the stage for someone to drink too much and blackout or worse, mainly because they are not able to accurately judge how drunk they really are.
“It’s sort of a nasty cycle,” said Hansen. “The more that you drink [Four Loko style beverages], the drunker and drunker you’re getting but still feeling energetic. Without the depressive affects of alcohol, people just don’t think they are as drunk as they really are.”
The trend towards these new Four Loko styles of drinks emerged over the last year, when local stores only carried one or two varieties of these kinds of drinks that came in only one or two flavors. Now stores have entire sections dedicated to them and still struggle to keep up with the demand.
“We started out with only 2 varieties but it’s grown to a lot more than that,” said Jones. “We’re completely out of Four Loko right now, actually. People have been coming in and asking for them all day.”
Whether it’s because of the amount of alcohol or how they taste, WSU students can’t seem to get enough of these new styles of drinks. With stores like Bobs Corner Market running out of Four Lokos on a regular basis, the trend towards these drinks seems to be continuing through this year.
Sources:
Ryan Jones [This interview was done in person at Bobs Corner Market]
ryan.jones@email.wsu.edu
(509)793-4798
Steven Hansen (WSU police lieutenant) [This interview was done in person at the Public Safety Building]
(509)335-8548 ; Fax: (509)335-4239
hansensj@wsu.edu
Ryan Davis
ryand1222@hotmail.com
(425)269-9062
Outline:
Introduction of new drink trend
What is four loko
quote
effects of drink on body
quote
why students like it
quote
how these drinks lead to over drinking
quote
continuation of trend
