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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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The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Howard's Grotto, 14732 Lakeshore Drive.
The dinner will give chamber members an opportunity to welcome 2009 President Joey Luiz and President Elect Bob Rider, and board members Bob Alderman, Doug Codling, past president Thomas Hewlett, Michael Horner, Karen Karnatz, Lamont Kucer and Jenny Lynn Schell.
Board alternates are Betty Hudson and Jared Knowlton.
For more information or for dinner reservations, call the Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce, 994-3600.
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CLEARLAKE – Shopping local pays off really big – that's what a local teacher said when she was called and informed she had won the $1,000 local shopping spree, just for shopping local this holiday season.
Lower Lake Elementary School Teacher Judy Engardio shopped local during the Christmas in Clear Lake marketing campaign which brought together 60 local businesses from around Clear Lake.
The Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce asked Judy how she'll spend her $1,000 shopping spree gift certificates and she said, “We had planned on buying a new couch, maybe this will help out!”
This is the second year of the marketing campaign. Last year the chamber asked asked businesses to validate the entry forms by attaching receipts so that they could tally up the number of entry forms and get a total of what we kept here in Lake County. It came to just over $62,000.
This year to make the campaign more simple the chamber did not attach receipts to the entry forms. They did, however, add additional radio advertising to promote the campaign, which generated more entry tickets than last year. The additional advertising makes this campaign a great marketing opportunity for local businesses looking to advertise for the holiday season.
Many of the participating businesses have asked who won the contest, and they are thrilled it was a local school teacher.
Participating merchants include:
South side
2 Goomba's Italian Deli, 16175 Main St, Lower Lake * A & B Auto Collision, 7070 Old Hwy 53* Avina's Market, 14060 Olympic Dr * Best Western-El Grande Hotel, 15135 Lakeshore Dr * Big O Tires, 14320 Lakeshore Dr * Bob's Vacuum Repair and Janitorial Supply, 4165 Mullen Ave * Brown's RV, Hwy 53 and 29, Lower Lake * Cactus Grill, 3900 Bayliss Ave * Cecil's Take 'n' Bake Pizza, 3386 Washington St * Chic le Chef, 19024 Redbud Rd, Hidden Valley Lake * Clearlake Bait & Tackle, 14699 Lakeshore Dr * Clearlake TV & Appliance, 14915 Olympic Dr * Clearlake Veterinary Clinic, 3424 Emerson St * Elegant Touch Salon, 14820 Olympic Dr * Espresso Depot, 14667 Lakeshore Dr * Fischer Auto & Electric, 4314 Old Hwy 53 * Four Corners Builders Supply, 14975 Olympic Dr * Girlfriends, 14510 Lakeshore Dr * Griffins Furniture Outlet, 14409 Lakeshore Dr * Gloria’s Gift Gallery, 14824 Olympic Drive * Hewlett, Thomas M. DDS, 3560 Old Hwy 53 * Highlands Insurance Agency, 14585 Olympic Drive * Highlands Nursery, 3445 Old Hwy 53 * Howard's Grotto, 14732 Lakeshore Dr * Jonas Heating and Cooling, 9125 Hwy 53* Kevin Ness Jeweler, 14114 Lakeshore Dr * Konoctees, 2395 Ogulin Canyon Rd * Konocti Dance Academy, 4274 Old Hwy 53 * Lake County Furniture Consignment, 14270 Lakeshore Dr * Lake Escape Resort, 13885 Lakeshore Dr * Lake House Inn & Bistro, 14165 Lakeshore Dr * Lakeshore Bait & Tackle, 14913 Lakeshore Dr * Lakeside TV & Appliance, 14092 Lakeshore Dr * Lisa's Sizes 3-60, 14290 Olympic Dr * Main St. Bar & Grill, 14086 Lakeshore Dr * Marie's Lakeshore Feed & Grain, 14590 Lakeshore Dr * Moran's Pharmacy, 14855 Lakeshore Dr * One Stop Automotive, 14570 Lakeshore Dr * Pampered Pooch, 14420 Lakeshore Dr * Perfect Printers, 14096 Lakeshore Dr * Shannon Ridge Winery, 12599 East Hwy 20, Clearlake Oaks * Shearwood Forest Salon, 14822 Lakeshore Dr * Travelodge, 4775 Old Hwy. 53 * WestAmerica Bank, 15342 Lakeshore Drive * Wild About Books, 14290 Olympic Dr
North side
Featherbed Railroad Company, 2870 Lakeshore Dr, Nice * Lake County Car Audio & Security, 325 W. Hwy 20, Upper Lake * Law Office of Dennis A. Fordham, 55 First St, Suite 207 , Lakeport * Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino, 1545 E Hwy 20, Nice
Serving all of Lake County
Aero Airport Shuttle, 707-987-1920 * Bordessa Construction, 707-994-9675 * Enterprise Towing, 707-994-8801 * Gallery of World Accents, www..galleryofworldaccents.com * S.C. Productions, 707-995-9602 * Yuba Community College District, SBDC, www.yubasbdc.org * The Mix, Newspaper, 707-338-7194.
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“Several lucky persons thought we were joking when we told them that their tree was free," said owner Rod Skelton. “It was fun to see their faces when they realized their tree was really free. Our plan was so well received and appreciated, we'll probably do it again next year. Also, many customers were happy that we had lowered our prices by 10 percent over previous years because of the poor economy.”
Winners of free trees were Jody Hunt, Cobb; Dewey Barnes, Clearlake; Jeff Tunnell, Lakeport; Danielle Garcia, Upper Lake; Wendy Ringer, Lakeport; and Shane Black, Lower Lake.
“We hope next year to again be at the parking lot of New hope Fellowship Church behind Mackey Tire,” said Skelton. “Come see us. Our trees are the freshest in town because we store and display them in water bowls.”
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