The Four Loko is now one of the most popular drinks in China
They’re calling it the “lose your virginity drink”
Chris Hunter, Jaisen Freeman, and Jeff Wright are alumnus of The Ohio State University and the inventors of the Four Loko. In 2005, the trio created the drink as a way to corner the market of college students looking for cheap, but strong, alcoholic beverages. As a new business, they probably hoped for modest success at best. Instead, their beverage became a wide-spread phenomenon.
Eleven years later, and the Four Loko has finally become an international sensation and not just a cheap malt beverage that Ohio State students drink before a night of debauchery.
Recently, the drink has become extremely popular in China, where they are now calling it the “lose your virginity drink.” When the drink originally came out in the United States, it had a similar reputation and was nicknamed “blackout in a can.”
Typically a Four Loko contains 12% alcohol and comes in a 23.5 oz. can. However, some earlier versions of the drink contained up to 14% alcohol. Furthermore, in the Four Loko’s infancy, it contained a dangerous combination of alcohol and caffeine. Because the drink comes in a variety of flavors such as Fruit Punch, Watermelon, Peach, Lemonade, and Strawberry Lemonade, the taste of alcohol is easily masked, making it easy to drink.
In 2010, Four Loko removed caffeine from its drink due to health concerns. Removing the caffeine was a direct result of several students misusing the drink and endangering their lives. Nine Central Washington University freshmen were hospitalized from drinking Four Lokos at a party.
Their blood alcohol content ranged from .123 to .35. To put that in perspective, a BAC of .3 is considered to be potentially fatal.
Today, any sensible college student in America knows the dangers of drinking a Four Loko with or without the caffeine. The same cannot be said for Chinese drinkers.
In the past month, three Chinese women managed to bring the drink into a karaoke bar in the city of Nanjing and passed out from drinking too much. They ended up having their belongings stolen while they were passed out.
Another trend that has become popular in China is internet bloggers uploading videos of them drinking Four Lokos and documenting the effects. Many online Chinese retailers are claiming to sell the original Four Loko product combining caffeine with the alcohol.
Phusion Products provided a statement regarding the claims made by online Chinese retailers:
We do not produce or sell any caffeinated products in the United States, China or any other country. Those in China who allege it contains caffeine or other stimulants have no association with our company and are making claims that are completely false.
Hopefully drinkers in China will realize that no sane person should pound multiple Four Lokos in a short period of time. Maybe it is best to encourage drinkers around the world to just stick to beer.