Week 8 Tutorial Questions

1. Are these drinks as dangerous as the critics maintain? How much of the problem is due to the high levels of caffeine, how much is due to the labeling and marketing and how much is caused by irresponsible behavior on the part of young drinkers? Are companies like Joose and Four Loko being singles out for social problems that are much wider in scope, in particular, alcohol abuse by young people?

These caffeinated beverages evidently have dangerous effects on individuals when consumed in large consumptions. The reason it is so dangerous is due to the high caffeine levels in the alcoholic drink, which can have adverse effects on those that consume the drink, as it prevents them from becoming tired, and stopping drinking as a natural reaction. The fact that the drink is so cheap, and is marketed in a colourful way does attract younger drinkers, which was the major reason that Four Loko was looked down upon. However I do not believe that these companies should be singled out and suffer due to the social problems of underage drinking, and young people abusing alcohol. I believe these issues are a much larger scope and will not be solved by banning these products.

2. Is Peter Mercer correct that caffeinated alcoholic beverages serve no ‘socially redeeming purpose’? Is that the proper test for determining whether society should permit a product to be sold? What about the fact that there is a market demand for these products?

Peter Mercer is correct that these caffeinated alcoholic beverages do not serve a purpose to society and therefore are not socially redeeming. However this is not a legitimate test for determining whether the products should be kept on the market, because alcohol in general is not socially redeeming. I think the fact that there is a high market demand for these products means that they should be kept on the