Dangerous Design: Four Loko

'Four Loko' Alcoholic Energy Drinks

        'Four Loko' and the fight to ban it from politicians and the government has been a popular topic in college news the past two months. The design of the Four drinks is dangerous to society because it looks like any other energy drink; the colorful and flamboyant design make it visually appealing and attractive. The can form of the 'Four Loko' drink, and the design on it make it look more playful and targeted to a younger age group (college students), compared to other alcoholic beverages which are usually in either in bottles or cans and have more sophisticated designs. The Four Loko drinks are a dangerously potent mix of caffeine and alcohol, as well as taurine and guarana to make up the four main ingredients. The size of the Four Loko can manipulate the drinker into drinking a lot more than the ideal serving size, and thus making the person drunker and affecting their health more negatively. It contains 12% alcohol in one 23.5oz can, which is equivalent to 5-6 cans of beer. In addition to that, since the caffeine reduces the feeling of "being inebriated," more people can unknowingly drink themselves to the point that they black out or pass out. There are instances that have shown seriously adverse side affects from drinking Four Loko drinks that has deemed Four Loko to the a concern to public health, which is why it became banned. There's a video on College Humor that ridicules and emphasizes how bad these drinks are for you:
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1943435
         The exterior design of the Four Loko gives an innocent impression of the actual drink itself. It is misleading design, and formulation of the drink was executed with no good purpose than to mindlessly get drunk faster and promote a culture of substance abuse and/or dependency on caffeine and energy drinks in order to function. It's a dangerous design to society because it makes society worse and provides no real benefit. The side effects of these drinks were most likely intentional, but it shows the lack of design and planning that went into the quality and the objectives of these products. The dangers of combining caffeine and alcohol is knowledge that has been proven to be true before these drinks came into the market, which shows that the company's objective was to make some money out of college students.

The price of Four Loko being $2.69 is another dangerous aspect because of its availability and cheap prices

Credits / Links:
[First image] http://www.shuttervoice.com/18788/four-loko-energy-drink-manufacturers-pelted-with-accusations-and-anti-drug-campaigners.html
[Second Picture, shelf] http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/nov/22/statehouse-live-alcoholic-energy-drinks-banned-sta/