Alcoholic Drinks

They call it "pre-drinking," "pre-partying" or "pre-funking," and it usually involves chugging  cheap alcoholic drinks before heading out to a bar, club or sporting event. While addiction experts estimate that 65% to 75% of college-age youths engage in such boozy behavior, a Swiss study concludes that such "pre-loaded" evenings are far more likely to end in blackouts, unprotected sex, unplanned drug use or injury. "Pre-drinking is a pernicious drinking pattern," said coauthor Florian Labhart, a  researcher at Addiction Info Switzerland, in Lausanne.

For millions of Southwest Airlines passengers, the drinks are on the house. The airline has reached a tentative settlement with passengers who sued Southwest over vouchers for alcoholic drinks that were given to “business select” passengers before Aug. 1, 2010. On that date, Southwest changed its policy, saying that even though the drink vouchers had no expiration date, the airline would only honor them on the date passengers were traveling. In the lawsuit filed in 2011, the plaintiffs, Adam Levitt and Herbert Malone, said the policy change amounts to a breach of contract and made the coupons worthless.

The Food and Drug Administration requested information from nearly 30 makers of caffeinated alcoholic beverages on why they believed their products were safe. The companies have 30 days to send data showing how caffeine can be "safely and lawfully" added to alcoholic drinks.

They call it "pre-drinking," "pre-partying" or "pre-funking," and it usually involves chugging  cheap alcoholic drinks before heading out to a bar, club or sporting event. While addiction experts estimate that 65% to 75% of college-age youths engage in such boozy behavior, a Swiss study concludes that such "pre-loaded" evenings are far more likely to end in blackouts, unprotected sex, unplanned drug use or injury. "Pre-drinking is a pernicious drinking pattern," said coauthor Florian Labhart, a  researcher at Addiction Info Switzerland, in Lausanne.

Even by the extreme standards of typical college mayhem, the small-town college party in central Washington this month looked bad. Police were initially called to a supermarket parking lot, where they found a girl passed out in the back seat of a car next to a boy with a bloody nose. At the private house the two had just left, three girls were sprawled on a bed, a barely conscious young man was being dragged out of the backyard, a girl was prostrate on the bathroom floor and three young people were splayed senseless in a car outside.

For millions of Southwest Airlines passengers, the drinks are on the house. The airline has reached a tentative settlement with passengers who sued Southwest over vouchers for alcoholic drinks that were given to “business select” passengers before Aug. 1, 2010. On that date, Southwest changed its policy, saying that even though the drink vouchers had no expiration date, the airline would only honor them on the date passengers were traveling. In the lawsuit filed in 2011, the plaintiffs, Adam Levitt and Herbert Malone, said the policy change amounts to a breach of contract and made the coupons worthless.

In a scene from "Jewel of the Nile"--the soon-to-be-released adventure-film sequel to "Romancing the Stone"--Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are seated in a Moroccan restaurant sipping cocktails while watching the sunset. But marketing executives from Grace Restaurant Co., Irvine, a division of W. R. Grace & Co., hope that the movie audience will ignore the sunset and instead watch the bottles on the table.

Want to keep your calories under control this season? Then drink a little less holiday cheer. Researchers have long debated the contribution of alcoholic drinks to unwanted weight gain. But growing evidence points to alcohol's role as a contributor to extra pounds, particularly those that are added at the waistline. One reason is that alcohol packs seven calories per gram.

Caffeinated alcoholic drinks that have been making college kids sick on campuses in several states may not be around much longer -- if news report of their proposed demise are correct. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has supported such a ban, reports Tuesday on his website that the Food and Drug Administration plans to ban caffeinated alcoholic drinks like Four Loko and Joose as an "unsafe food additive to alcoholic beverages. " The statement also says the Federal Trade Commission will tell manufacturers that selling these unsafe alcoholic drinks is illegal.

Calling it a "modest although controversial suggestion," Albany's Roman Catholic Bishop Howard J. Hubbard recommends a halt to the serving of alcoholic drinks at church fund-raising functions. In the dioscesan newspaper, the Evangelist, he says that in the face of the "mounting human cost of alcohol and drug abuse in our society," the church needs to "communicate that people can come together and socialize without tranquilizing themselves."

Starbucks customers are about to get a different kind of buzz. Already a go-to for morning commuters and afternoon pick-me-ups, the coffee giant is aiming to expand the happy hour crowd by offering wine and beer at select Southern California locations. Starbucks said it would bring booze to four to six new or remodeled stores in the region by the end of this year and planned to do the same to a small group of locations in Atlanta and Chicago. In addition, patrons could order "premium food" such as savory snacks, small plates and hot flatbreads.

Reporting from San Francisco In response to an assault in the Dodger Stadium parking lot that critically injured a fan on opening day, the Dodgers have cancelled plans to sell alcoholic beverages at half price at six midweek day games this season. "As we said last week, we wanted to take a look at all our policies regarding to alcohol," Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said. "In taking a look, we decided it was the right thing to do. " County Supervisor Mike Antonovich on Tuesday called for the Dodgers to cancel the half-price alcohol promotion, which was scheduled for April 21, May 4, June 15, June 22, Aug. 10 and Aug. 31. Ted Lilly isn't at peace with his performance in 4-3 loss to the Giants Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said last week that he believed alcohol consumption contributed to problems at Dodger Stadium and that police officials were pushing the Dodgers to raise prices and stop sales at an earlier point in the game.

The brightly colored poster for the annual fundraiser at an elementary school in this quaint town tucked into Tasman Bay advertised face painting, a bouncy castle ? and a fully licensed bar. Principal Don McLean said the gala has offered drinks for years without problems. "There's always that challenge of where is it appropriate to have alcohol and where is it not," McLean said. "You could argue that at a primary school festival maybe it's not. " In a country where more than two decades of business deregulation has left booze sometimes cheaper than bread or milk, alcohol has moved to the center of New Zealand's public debate, with almost daily media and police focus on its effect on public safety.

Caffeinated alcohol drinks like Four Loko and Joose are being whisked off store shelves faster than college kids can stock up. The fallout from the Food and Drug Administration's safety warning Wednesday on what amounts to a ban on such beverages remains to be seen. "I'm afraid that horse is already out of the barn," columnist Nicole Brochu writes in the Sun Sentinel in Florida . "And in fact, some drinkers, taking a cue from a trend that started in European bars, were already mixing their own alcoholic energy drinks when fashionable labels like Four Loko, Joose and Max hit the scene.

Caffeinated alcoholic beverage manufacturers received official word Wednesday from the Food and Drug Administration that caffeine added to their products is considered an "unsafe food additive. " The FDA sent warning letters to four companies, including the makers of popular fruit-flavored alcoholic drinks Four Loko, Joose and Max.  "FDA does not find support for the claim that the addition of caffeine to these alcoholic beverages is 'generally recognized as safe,' which is the legal standard,” Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, principal deputy commissioner said in a statement.

Caffeinated alcoholic drinks that have been making college kids sick on campuses in several states may not be around much longer -- if news report of their proposed demise are correct. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has supported such a ban, reports Tuesday on his website that the Food and Drug Administration plans to ban caffeinated alcoholic drinks like Four Loko and Joose as an "unsafe food additive to alcoholic beverages. " The statement also says the Federal Trade Commission will tell manufacturers that selling these unsafe alcoholic drinks is illegal.

Women who have a few alcoholic drinks a week have an almost 15% lower chance of developing high blood pressure than teetotalers, new research shows. However, the study also found that consuming more than about 1 1/2 drinks daily increases the high blood pressure risk by 30% compared with nondrinkers. The increased risk was associated equally with wine, beer and hard liquor.

Four Loko and other caffeinated alcohol drinks may worry some doctors, parents, officials and others not referred to in the media as "young adults. " But the "young adults" themselves are intrigued. Two Skidmore College students tried the "blackout in a can" and gave the experience a thumbs down after vomiting and getting sick, says Dr. Orly Avitzur on the Consumer Reports' Health Blog . He adds his own cautionary note: "While most kids pass out after drinking a certain amount of alcohol, the caffeine in Four Loko tends to keep them awake so that they can continue to drink.

Even by the extreme standards of typical college mayhem, the small-town college party in central Washington this month looked bad. Police were initially called to a supermarket parking lot, where they found a girl passed out in the back seat of a car next to a boy with a bloody nose. At the private house the two had just left, three girls were sprawled on a bed, a barely conscious young man was being dragged out of the backyard, a girl was prostrate on the bathroom floor and three young people were splayed senseless in a car outside.