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“With this agreement, we’re shutting down 90 percent of the market in caffeine-spiked alcoholic beverages,” said Attorney General Brown. “The growing and widespread use of caffeine mixed with alcohol can distort judgment, weaken inhibitions and encourage risky behavior, especially in young people.”
Alcoholic energy drinks mix alcohol with ingredients like caffeine, guarana, taurine or ginseng. The alcoholic content in these drinks range from 6 to 12 percent per volume, more than most beers.
While the formulation, labeling, marketing and selling of Sparks was approved by federal regulatory authorities numerous times, MillerCoors said it decided to reformulate the product based on concerns expressed by the attorneys general.
“As a responsible company, we are always willing to listen to societal partners and consider changes to our business to reinforce our commitment to alcohol responsibility,” said Tom Long, president and chief commercial officer of MillerCoors. “These changes will allow MillerCoors to continue to market and sell Sparks to legal drinking age consumers.”
Long said the agreement with the attorneys general contained no finding that MillerCoors engaged in unlawful behavior or marketed its Sparks brand to people below the legal drinking age.
Together, the stimulating effect of caffeine in the beverage mixed with the alcohol can mask how intoxicated the drinker actually is. A drinker may feel alert, but will still suffer the debilitating effects of alcohol consumption, including diminished reaction times and basic motor skills.
Sparks currently has 90 percent of the market share for alcoholic energy drinks. Last June, Attorney General Brown and other attorneys general announced that Anheuser-Busch had signed an agreement to stop producing its alcoholic energy drinks.
With the agreement, most of the alcoholic energy drinks that were available in the beginning of the year will now be taken off the market. California and the other states will continue to investigate the smaller companies that continue to sell alcoholic energy drinks.
Young people are most vulnerable to the effects of alcoholic energy drinks like Sparks because they are prone to engage in risky behaviors such as binge-drinking and are less experienced in gauging the debilitating effects of alcohol. They are also more at risk of acute alcohol problems, including traffic crashes, violence, sexual assault, and suicide.
A study by researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine found that students who consumed alcoholic energy beverages were twice as likely to be involved in alcohol-related accidents and injuries. They were also more likely to be involved in sexual assaults or drunk driving.
After an investigation into the product, Attorney General Brown and the participating attorneys general alleged that Sparks was unsafe, MillerCoors was making false or misleading health-related statements about Sparks’ energizing effects, and much of the marketing was directed toward youth, a violation of California laws on marketing tobacco or alcoholic products to minors.
MillerCoors cooperated fully with the state attorneys general investigation of its Sparks brands.
“While we have listened closely to the AGs and respect their position, we strongly disagree with their inaccurate allegations about the marketing and sale of Sparks,” Long said. “The Sparks brand has been responsibly marketed only to legal drinking age consumers.”
MillerCoors will be able to sell through current Sparks product inventory as the reformulated Sparks is brewed to ensure no disruption in product availability to distributors and retailers.
Long said that the company is confident in the continued growth of the Sparks. “We believe we can and will expand interest and growth with a reformulated product and we remain committed to the Sparks franchise.”
In a similar instance, Anheuser-Busch InBev recently reformulated its Tilt brand to remove caffeine and other ingredients.
“We look forward to continuing to responsibly market and sell Sparks products to legal drinking age consumers,” he added.
Under the settlement agreement, MillerCoors will:
Cease manufacturing and marketing all caffeinated alcoholic beverages, including Sparks;
Reformulate Sparks so that it does not contain stimulants, including caffeine, guarana, taurine or ginseng, and eliminate the use of images that suggest an energizing effect;
Not promote the mixing of caffeinated products with alcoholic beverages;
Inform distributors and retailers that reformulated Sparks contains alcohol, but no caffeine, and Sparks should be displayed separate from non-alcoholic energy drinks. The company will also immediately discontinue its current Sparks website without directing visitors to a new site.
California was joined in this settlement by Arizona, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and the city and county of San Francisco.
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