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The Food and Drug Administration is expected to find that caffeine is an unsafe food additive to alcoholic drinks, essentially banning them, and manufacturers will then be warned that marketing caffeinated alcoholic beverages could be illegal.
The FDA ruling, which could come as soon as this week, "should be the nail in the coffin of these dangerous and toxic drinks," Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who has pushed the Obama administration to ban the beverages, said Tuesday. Federal regulators would not confirm Schumer's announcement that a ban was imminent.
While there is little known medical evidence that the drinks are less safe than other alcoholic drinks, public health advocates say the drinks can make people feel more alert and able to handle tasks like driving. A Wake Forest University study found that students who combine caffeine and alcohol are more likely to suffer alcohol-related injuries than those drinking alcohol without caffeine.
Four states — Utah, Washington, Michigan and Oklahoma — have banned the beverages and other states are considering similar action.
In October 2008, Utah lawmakers banned grocery and convenience stores from selling energy drinks and other flavored malt beverages, such as Smirnoff Ice and Jack Daniel's Original Hard Cola. Some of the malt beverages were then placed in state liquor stores — at nearly double the price. But energy drinks that seem to appeal to minors or beverages that do not have prominent labeling attesting to their alcohol content are not sold in state-controlled stores, Utah officials said.