The liquor commission is concerned that flavored malt beverages, such as Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Silver and Jack Daniels' Original Hard Cola, may be luring young people to drink alcohol.

George VanKomen, longtime chairman of the self-appointed Alcohol Policy Commission, calls the flavored beverages "alcohol on training wheels" and says they are "teaching our kids to drink."

Abbie Vianes, coordinator of the Salt Lake City Mayor's Coalition on Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, calls the fruity malt beverages "alcoholic training bras."

We share these concerns, which is why we have argued before that these beverages should be clearly labeled as containing alcohol, as the federal Treasury Department requires, and that the print should be large enough and explicit enough that it can't be missed or misconstrued.

We also believe that these drinks should be cased in stores right next to the beer, so that customers know what they're buying. Maybe signs should mark the case as containing alcoholic beverages.

We also agree that any alcoholic beverage can be abused, whether by kids or adults.

But we part company with Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who says that flavored malt beverages should be removed from grocery store shelves. Confining sales of these products to state liquor stores and package agencies would cut down the possibility of illegal sales to kids, but it would not stem alcohol abuse. Kids would abuse something else, probably 3.2 beer or hard liquor mixed in a sweet soft drink, as they have for generations.

The thing that sets the fruity malt beverages apart is that they are relatively new to the market. Our bet is that kids know exactly what they are, even if their parents don't. Young adults may not know how to drink responsibly, but you can't teach that by restricting where certain products are sold.

If underage kids are buying or drinking alcohol, they are breaking the law. It doesn't matter whether the beverage is a 3.2 beer or a 3.2 malt beverage.

So long as both have the same alcohol content, they should be allowed on the same grocery store shelf.