A clerk in Arlington has been arrested for selling the caffeinated alcoholic drink Four Loko to a group of teenagers.
22 year old Satish Phuyal, a clerk at a 6Pack Xpress in Arlington, was hand cuffed and arrested by Texas authorities after a group of teenagers got involved in a car accident, which left one of the teen girls in the group dead.
So what's up with Four Loko? Why are so many young people drawn to this alcoholic beverage?
I'll tell you what, I'm of drinking age and in the name of science I went and picked up a few cans of Four Loko with some friends right before the beverage was banned here in New York City.
I don't know why people are drinking them. Four Loko honestly taste like a combination of sweat and aspergum or some kind of cold medicine (and not the good tasting kind). Not even my booze loving boyfriend wanted to drink it. He said it tasted like ass... and this guy agrees!
So if it tastes so gross why is it so popular? More important, why is it so deadly?
1. Caffeine + Alcohol = Toxic-Jock Syndrome
Nobody knows why caffeine and alcohol are so toxic when combined, but the combination appears to impair a drinker's judgment more than just drinking alcohol alone. It's led to a condition that some researchers are calling "toxic-jock syndrome."
2. Caffeine Makes You Feel Sober When You're Drunk
The caffeine in the beverage doesn't just combat the sleepiness that you usually feel when you drink alcohol. The caffeine also delays the feeling of drunkenness. The drinker doesn't feel drunk and keeps drinking well beyond their natural capacity and normal drinking limits. People "feel" sober when they are not, get behind the wheel, and kill their friends.
3. Heart Palpitations and Irregular Heartbeats
Four Loko is also causing heart palpitations and irregular heartbeats in normally healthy people. The caffeine in the beverage causes things like headaches, jitteriness, agitation, stomach problems and abnormal breathing... That's scary.
4. Adrenaline Rush
Some have compared drinking Four Loko to an "adrenaline rush" which could explain it's popularity with teens. It's no secret that young people are drawn toward that feeling... Unfortunately that rush can kill you.
Bungee jumping, video games, roller coasters, mary-go-rounds... Four Loko. They all seem to create that adrenaline rush that teens crave from life, and the makers of Four Loko are laughing all the way to the bank. A beverage that was virtually unknown a few weeks ago, is now part of our common vernacular. But at what cost?
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