SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has announced that an 11-state investigation into Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. sales tactics for alcohol energy drinks has resulted in the company discontinuing the manufacture, marketing and sale of its two popular pre-mixed alcoholic energy drinks, Tilt and Bud Extra. The other states included Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, New York and Ohio. The AGs praised A-B and called on other makers of alcoholic energy drinks to halt their sale and marketing.
The company also will cease future [image-nocss] production of caffeinated alcoholic beverages. The investigation, in which Madigan 's office participated, questioned whether A-B made false or misleading health-related statements about the energizing effects of Tilt and Bud Extra.
"[A-B] has made the right decision to pull these potentially dangerous beverages from the market, and I urge other manufacturers to follow its lead to get all caffeinated alcoholic beverages off store shelves," Madigan said. "I am concerned these drinks are extremely dangerous in the hands of young people. They contain substantially more caffeine than coffee or soda and are marketed to be consumed in combination with other alcoholic beverages. This is an inappropriate message to send consumers, especially younger audiences."
The investigation looked at A-B's marketing campaigns for Tilt and Bud Extra. These highly caffeinated "alcopops" are popular with young people, who often incorrectly believe that the caffeine in the drinks will counteract the effects of the alcohol. While A-B denied the allegations, it fully cooperated with the investigation and decided to reformulate Tilt and Bud Extra without caffeine or other stimulants, Madigan said.
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