# FDA may ban caffeinated alcoholic beverages?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 13, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489 "2009-11-13T21:26:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 11\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/1 "2009-11-13T21:26:49Z")

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[http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/health/policy/14fda.html?hp](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/health/policy/14fda.html?hp)

Convince me that this isn’t the most idiotic potential law. Will bars no longer be able to serve Irish coffee? Red Bull and vodka? Will my favorite shot, Van Gogh espresso-infused vodka be banned as well?

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/2 "2009-11-13T21:43:59Z")

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Looks to me like it would apply to bottled drinks, not mixed.

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/3 "2009-11-13T21:52:09Z")

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What the fuck is this supposed to mean -

> [@](#):
>
> In a statement, the Food and Drug Administration said it told nearly 30 manufacturers of the drinks that unless they could provide clear evidence of safety, the agency would “take appropriate action to ensure that the products are removed from the marketplace.”

So, coffee is safe, and alcohol is safe, but a mix is not?

I’ve been drinking _cafe royale_ for years now.

More stupid shit from the Fun-Suckers. Why don’t they go bother the homeopathic morons and leave shit-faced but wide-awake college students alone?

Regards,  
Shodan

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/4 "2009-11-13T22:15:05Z")

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It’s for the children.

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**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/5 "2009-11-13T22:15:54Z")

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> [@Shodan](#):
>
> What the fuck is this supposed to mean -So, coffee is safe, and alcohol is safe, but a mix is not?

\<\<Caffeine may lead people to underestimate how drunk they are, giving drinkers a false sense of confidence that they can perform tasks they are too impaired to undertake.\>\>

Seems to me like alcohol alone does the same thing.

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**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/6 "2009-11-13T22:28:48Z")

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> [@gigi](#):
>
> \<\<Caffeine may lead people to underestimate how drunk they are, giving drinkers a false sense of confidence that they can perform tasks they are too impaired to undertake.\>\>
> 
> Seems to me like alcohol alone does the same thing.

So does college.

Regards,  
Shodan

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**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/7 "2009-11-14T00:09:51Z")

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> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#):
>
> Will my favorite shot, Van Gogh espresso-infused vodka be banned as well?

This would not be good.

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**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/8 "2009-11-14T02:47:48Z")

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The “studies” that they cite seem to be a textbook example of confusing correlation with causation.

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**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/9 "2009-11-14T13:51:47Z")

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They can pry my Crown and Coke out of my cold dead hands! Right after my drunk ass plows into a family of four on my way home from the bar.

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**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/10 "2009-11-14T13:58:31Z")

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> [@Lute Skywatcher](#):
>
> Looks to me like it would apply to bottled drinks, not mixed.

Yeah, and I suppose we’re trying to figure out what difference it makes. Every frat boy in town drinks Vodka + Red Bull. I suppose there’s a danger in someone buying a drink pre-mixed, but not in him or a bartender mixing it himself?

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**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fda-may-ban-caffeinated-alcoholic-beverages/517489/11 "2009-11-14T14:10:17Z")

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As a consumer, there’s no way for me to tell whether a certain skin cream causes lupus. But I am able to judge pretty accurately whether drinking alcohol with caffeine messes me up. So, another vote for FDA getting its priorities straight.