Officials express concern about alcoholic beverages being marketed to teenagers
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

Community leaders and law enforcement have joined together to try to find a way to protect the city's youth from the deceptive business practices of alcohol companies.

At a meeting last Friday, law enforcement officers used PowerPoint presentations to show city, school and other concerned officials how alcohol companies are using the same tactics as tobacco companies to attract children to their unhealthy products at an early age to ensure lifelong addictions. About 60 people attended the meeting at Thousand Oaks City Hall.

Young girls are especially at risk: 70 to 75 percent of all sexual assaults in Ventura County occur after the victim or the suspect has been drinking, said Chief Dep. Geoff Dean of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

The deceptive tactics began in the 1990s when beer and wine sales were exceeding sales of distilled liquor in the United States. Sellers of hard liquor took a look at the market and decided to go after the young girls who didn't like the taste of beer, said James Mosher, director of the Center for the Study of Law Enforcement Policy.

Alcopops, a fruity alcoholic drink designed and marketed especially for girls, was created and put on the market. This type of beverage effectively served as a bridge to get young people to drink flavored hard liquor, such as fruit-flavored vodka. And hard liquor sales increased, as distillers had hoped, Mosher said.

"If liquor companies can get young people drinking by age 15, they are four times more likely to become alcoholdependent than those who start when they're 21," Mosher said.

These sodalike drinks have successfully attracted young females- - and sales to that group have skyrocketed, Mosher said.

This success was followed by the introduction of energy drinks spiked with alcohol, also targeting youth, Mosher said. He explained that caffeinated drinks are highly dangerous as they keep intoxicated consumers awake so they can drink more than they could without a stimulant. They also think they can drive. The alcohol, caffeine and carbonation make for an unhealthy combination.

"They should be warning people to not mix alcohol with caffeine because it's a deadly mixture, but, because of profit, they're mixing (them) and selling it instead," Mosher said.

Whether because of a loophole or some other reason, state and federal agencies are turning a blind eye and allowing the highly caffeinated, distilled liquor concoction to not only be sold but to be mislabeled as a malt liquor, or beer, which is taxed at a lower rate than hard liquor and available through more retail stores, Mosher said. Since it's easier to get a license to sell beer and wine than a license to sell liquor, more retailers have beer and wine licenses.

While beer is taxed 30 cents, hard liquor is taxed $3.30, Mosher said.

Young men have been buying the energy drinks with alcohol to give to girls at parties- and not because they're generous, Dean said.

The drinks are labeled as Joose, Tilt, Sparks or about 50 other names. Three cans equal five shots of whiskey with the caffeine of 18 cans of Diet Pepsi, the chief deputy said.

Such drinks can be purchased anywhere beer is sold, but they're labeled in a way that blends in with nonalcoholic energy drinks, so parents, educators and even store clerks don't easily know the difference. These alcoholic beverages often cost less than the nonalcoholic energy drinks, selling for about $1.50 each when they're on sale, Dean said.

A sting operation by the Thousand Oaks Police Department on March 7 checked to see if businesses licensed to sell liquor would sell energy drinks with alcohol to underage minors. Most of the 70 stores in Moorpark and Thousand Oaks wouldn't. The locations police cited for selling alcohol to underage customers were: 7-Eleven, 3309 Kimber Drive; Albertsons, 1736 E. Avenida de Los Arboles; and Rite-Aid, 205 N. Moorpark Road. Five stores in Moorpark were also cited.

A 17-year-old who crusades against drinking alcohol was among the attendees of the meeting. He said he's seen more than a dozen students a year bring to school energy drinks containing more alcohol than a can of beer and drinking them in front of unaware teachers and administrators.

The energy drinks with alcohol also don't have the same noticeable alcohol smell that vodka in soda has, he said.

"It's rebellion. There's an extra thrill for them to do it in front of teachers without being caught," the young man said.

That excitement may soon end: Mario Contini, superintendent of the Conejo Valley Unified School District, said he plans to bring this issue to principals, PTA council members, school board members, parents and staff to make them aware.

Thousand Oaks Mayor Jacqui Irwin said she's always championed youth and safety issues and was glad the city hosted the meeting to make people more aware of the dangers of the drinks.

She also said Thousand Oaks has a $2,500 first-offense fine for offenders who host alcohol parties for minors.

Anyone who'd like Dean to speak to their organization on this issue can contact the deputy at geoff.dean@ventura.org.