This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Have a Safe, Sober Grad Night

Graduation season is upon us, and we all know what that means: more heartbreaking stories of promising grads who lose their lives to the tragic effects of alcohol abuse.

Graduation season is upon us, and we all know what that means: more heartbreaking stories of promising grads who lose their lives to the tragic effects of alcohol abuse.

Marin Institute has been leading the fight nationally against alcopops—those bubbly, sweet, cheap, flavored malt beverages in cans that look like energy drinks.

About Alcopops

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Don’t have a taste for beer or hard liquor yet? Big Alcohol has just the thing. Alcopops. They’re sweet, flashy and with fruity flavors like “Razzberry” and “Pomegranate Twist,” it’s no wonder they’re popular with young teens and middle schoolers.

From hard lemonade to alcoholic energy drinks that look just like their non-alcoholic counterparts, new alcopops enter the market with a disturbing frequency. The industry loves alcopops, or Flavored Malt Beverages (FMBs) as they call them, for several reasons:

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Targeting Girls

Alcopops have roughly the same amount of alcohol as beer, but their high sugar and–in some cases--caffeine content does a great job of masking the flavor and the affect. And that’s where young women come in. In recent years, teen girls report drinking more alcohol more often than their male peers and the American Medical Association (AMA) points to the popularity of Alcopops or ‘girlie drinks’ as a significant factor behind the shift.

Taxes

Alcopops, which the industry claims are made from brewed malt, are categorized in most states as “beer” and that means that their producers avoid the significantly higher tax rates for spirits or “hard alcohol. Low taxes also help keep the price point low and the youth appeal high.

Availability

Their status as “beer” makes alcopops much easier to buy than hard alcohol. In a number of states, that means they’re available wherever beer is available, such as convenience stores gas stations and mini-marts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?