Consider this surprising story. Some of the energy drinks teens casually consume contain alcohol. In Al's Morning Meeting, Poynter's Al Tompkins writes about two drinks that do. Interview students who use these drinks and find out if they were aware they contained alcohol. You could also interview doctors about the effect of energy drinks. Consider an infographic or charticle that shows the alcohol content of the drinks compared with more common alcoholic beverages.The (Mobile, Ala.) Press-Register taught me something. The paper ran a piece about so-called energy drinks that contain alcohol and that stores around Mobile readily sold to undercover cops. Take a look at two of the drinks,
"Sparks" and
"Tilt." Tilt has been on the market for a couple of years now.
The Press-Register reports:
Each of those contains 6 percent alcohol, according to the labels, but the can designs and snappy names mimic any of a number of alcohol-free, caffeine-rich energy drinks, said Lori Myles, the task force coordinator. Consequently, many people, especially parents, have no idea what their teens might be popping open.
The 16-ounce drinks are malt beverages with caffeine and ginseng, a natural extract heralded as an energy booster.
A teenage Mobile boy wound up in the hospital this summer after he drank five beers and five cans of Sparks, according to Myles and the boy's mother.
The new drinks contain more alcohol than beer does, police Cpl. Emmit Byrd explained Wednesday night during the sting operation.
