Alcohol companies have tapped into a growing market to introduce underage drinkers to their products, on the basis that kids who acquire a taste for alcoholic drinks early are more likely to get hooked. While it is still illegal for teens to purchase them, “alcopops,” are flavored beer and vodka drinks that contain caffeine, juices, and other flavors. These drinks often sport names like Moonshot, JungleJoose, and Bacardi Breezer Watermelon, to fool you into believing they are harmless flavored drinks.
But Drinker Beware…
Alcopops may contain 4-7% alcohol or more, higher than the average can of beer containing a little over 3% alcohol content. Alcohol is a depressant, and so can make you tired and slow your brain and reaction time. That affects your ability to make decisions and to act or think properly—it also makes you thirsty, so you keep drinking. Now throw in a strong jolt of caffeine, such as you find in typical energy drinks. While the alcohol in alcopops tends to make you sleepy, the caffeine in them keeps you feeling “up.” Sugar, the major ingredient in many juice drinks and flavorings, also stimulates your brain to give you a short-term energy surge. Now confused from the caffeine, alcohol, and sugar mix, your brain gets tricked in sometimes lethal ways because these drinks don’t taste like alcohol and make you feel less intoxicated than alcohol alone. This leaves you even less aware of how much you’ve consumed and more likely to binge drink.
What’s the Big Deal?
The big deal here is that combining a depressant (alcohol) with stimulants (caffeine and sugar) sends mixed signals to your brain, which can have long-term consequences. So digest the facts before you pop a top: drinking alcohol—including alcopops—can be quite dangerous.
Comments
Wow. this is something to reconsider.
Thanks for the post.
Yes, I think alcopops are very dangerous precisely because they seem so harmless. This can be specially bad if you are feeling down already:
This is an interesting info that i haven't known. It helped me collect more information. Thanks!
Interesting Article i never knew that so well
This is an interesting post and definitely an issue. Alco-Pops seem very harmless and sound like a delicious summer time treat but they can be dangerous especially when consumed in large amounts. Young people especially think that they are harmless since they mask the taste of alcohol so well. If you know someone with an alcohol problem the first step to your friend’s recovery is your support. I actually work with SAMHSA and the What A Difference A Friend Makes program. To find out ways you can help a friend, please visit http://www.whatadifference.org/mentalhealth
Alco-pops are definately a new danger in a different package. I have several people that I know of who have adverse reactions to caffeine, ranging from insomnia to allergic reactions.
I can well imagine that the combination from the two drugs for a subset of the population to be quite dangerous.
THIS IS TRUE; I THINK THAT TEENS SHOULD REALLY BEWARE!!!
well UGH! alcohol is not tht serious to me ju ! if yu tke an occasional sip it shouldnt matter ya knw..
I think that this is so overated! I also think that once you analyze something so close as they did with this, they will always find something bad. Just let the good times flow :)
oh this is very interesting i never knew this much about it until now!
very good posting. I liked it. thanks
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They also make you feel sick because of all the sugar even if you don't drink enough to get you drunk
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