The Food and Drug Administration is under pressure to ban alcoholic energy drinks, according to the Washington Post
.
An investigation has been underway since last year as to whether the drinks meet the FDA’s “Generally Recognized as Safe” standard. If there is a consensus that energy cocktails are safe, they will be exempted from FDA review, according to MedPage Today.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) along with Senator-elect Richard Blumenthal (D), who is currently Connecticut’s attorney general, sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg Monday urging her speed up the investigation. Blumenthal pushed for the agency to ban the drinks, calling them "a witch's brew of stimulants and alcohol," the Washington Post notes.
As JJIE.org reported last week, several states have already banned the sale of alcoholic energy drinks, including Utah, Oklahoma, Montana and Michigan. Studies show that caffeine initially disguises the effect of alcohol content, leaving most drinkers (especially young, inexperienced ones) unaware of how drunk they are.