Clifford Colvard
BUS-491
The Rise and Fall of Four Loko 1. All beverages are dangerous when consumed in large quantities. In the late eighties and early nineties, a beverage named Cisco came under scrutiny when many individuals succumbed to alcohol poisoning after imbibing the fruity alcoholic beverage. It was packaged in a fashion that some claimed to look like wine coolers. Nonetheless, the Canandaigua Wine Company, the manufacturer of Cisco, settled with the Federal Trade Commission to change the shape and color of the bottle and give a strong reference that Cisco is not a single serve beverage (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/predawn/F93/cisco.txt). This is a situation where Caveat Emptor is appropriate. Manufacturers often mimic packaging of more popular brands and I am fairly confident that the high dose of caffeine in Four Loko was a sought after characteristic by it consumers. In this case, Four Loko became the whipping post for overzealous parents and politicians, upset because their child was irresponsible. 2. Four Loko had a socially redeeming purpose apparent by the consumer demand. From a libertarian standpoint, individuals collectively coalesce with others who share similar values and interest to form a culture in which they choose their own socially redeeming qualities. Products often become synonymous with communities, a group of people bound by a common interest; therefore, Four Loko had the potential to represent a sub-culture, just as Harley-Davidson exudes the image of roughness for its riders. The redeeming social quality standard should only be applicable in cases where harm is done to someone else. The interference by the government in this case was unwarranted. The free market system elucidated a demand for Four Loko and beverages with high caffeine content have grown exponentially over the past decade. According to Beverage