Standing on a street corner in Manhattan in front of the 721 Quick Stop Inc. was Sen. Charles Schumer, New York Democrat and long-time consumer champion.
It was a sweaty Sunday afternoon, and the senator is on the sidewalk, under a red, white and blue awning that advertises “Cold Beer & Soda, Cigar, Magazines, Fax.” He wasn’t in line for any of these, not even the Fax. He was holding a press conference here to rail against Joose.
Someone driving by yelled out the window: “Free Palestine!”
“Thank you,” Schumer automatically replied. And then added: “I didn’t hear what he said.”
The screamer didn’t hear the senator, either. Schumer didn’t say Jews. He said Joose, a beverage that he says has a dangerously high mixture of alcohol and caffeine that is marketed to minors.
“I want to say this so people don’t think we’re talking about good ol’ apple juice, orange juice or pineapple juice,” Schumer said, and then he spelled out the word so that there was no mistaking: “J-O-O-S-E.”
Schumer also bashed Four Loko and similar beverages that look just like energy drinks but contain as much as 12 percent alcohol, two or three times that of beer, with multiples of the caffeine load in coffee or soda as well.
These amped-up malt liquors induce a condition known as “wide-awake drunk.”
You slur your words, only faster. You can get drunk enough to pass out, but the caffeine keeps you conscious enough to keep drinking.
It’s the perfect mix for a generation raised on Rock Star, Red Bull and Monster. And Schumer said the cans are so similar that parents and even store clerks can’t often tell them apart from nonalcoholic varieties.
“The marketing of Four Loko, Joose and other drinks like them leads one to believe the manufacturers are deliberately trying to get young people to drink this stuff,” Schumer said.
He has written a letter to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission asking it to review the marketing practices of these beverage makers.
A local New York reporter at the press conference tells me this is just another “Schumer Sunday.” The senator knows that if he does a Sunday press conference, assignment editors weary of parades and street festivals will send reporters for a sound bite, boosting Schumer’s good-guy profile among his electorate.
On recent Schumer Sundays, the senator has discussed legislation to prohibit sex offenders from working as dance instructors, carnival workers, clowns, and magicians, and announced his agreement with five major airlines to not be like Spirit Airlines and charge passengers for carry-on bags. How can anybody be against that?
“This past May, four teens in Westchester purchased Four Loko and a few hours later were in the hospital for alcohol poisoning,” Schumer said. “That wouldn’t happen with a can of beer.”
“I’m going to sit on the FTC ’til this happens,” he declared. “We have enough trouble with young people drinking and driving This is just irresponsible what these companies are trying to do, hook kids and have them handle stuff that they really can’t handle.”
It was a beautiful Schumer Sunday, but he is late to the party. Last year, attorneys general in several states launched similar investigations. And Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and MillerCoor’s LLC have reformulated their caffeinated “Tilt” and “Sparks” malt liquors in response to such concerns.
These drinks can make people feel like a Toyota, running with the gas and the brake fully depressed. So naturally, the Food and Drug Administration has long been investigating, too. Schumer, however, said the agency is moving too slowly as companies like United Brands Co., La Mesa, Calif., maker of Joose, and Chicago’s Phusion Projects Inc., maker of Four Loko, keep stoking the after-party.
Both companies say they don’t market products to minors and warn Internet surfers to stay off their websites if they are not 21.
If they get regulated out of business, there’s always a triple shot of espresso waiting for you at Starbucks after you raid your parent’s liquor cabinet.
I asked the senator if he’d ever tried Joose or Four Loko.
“No, I have not,” he replied.
But aren’t there some folks in Washington who could benefit from these drinks? I asked.
“There’s a lot that needs change in Washington,” Schumer said, “but I don’t think it’s more Four Loko.”
Al Lewis: al.lewis@dowjones.com; 212-416-2617; or
