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Discussing Alcohol Use and “Four Loko”

by Betsy Chapman

Last week, the ‘Daily Deac’ blog for parents posted an article about the death of a student at Radford University.  The article suggests the student had been at a party, had been intoxicated and that friends put him to bed to ‘sleep off the intoxication.’  Letting a severely intoxicated person go to sleep can be life threatening.  There is a Wake Forest web site called Party Smart that offers students information about how to deal with an intoxicated friend.  Though this page has been promoted to students, we know that parents also have great influence on their children, so we hope parents will refer this resource to their students.

A different article discussing college drinking habits appeared in the Washington Post’s ‘Campus Overload’ web site last week.  It describes “Four Loko — fruity energy drinks with 12 percent alcohol — started popping up on college campuses this spring. The 23.5 oz cans sell for less than three bucks each and come in 10 flavors, including blue raspberry and fruit punch.”  The article goes on to talk about the dangers that can be associated with consumption or excessive consumption of this type of beverage.

The Today show aired a segment on Four Loko, discussing some college students who became ill allegedly from drinking the beverage.  Due to the national media coverage, we wanted to bring these issues to parents’ attention. 

If your student is not already aware of Party Smart – or if you want to talk to your student about your family’s personal beliefs and expectations regarding alcohol and ‘trendy’ drinks like Four Loko – the Party Smart site offers advice for those conversations.

A final word about Four Loko from our health educator, Natascha Romeo:

  • The number of drinks in a 23.5 oz can of Four Loko is 5.6, not 3-4.
  • The caffeine masks the effect of alcohol so that the body doesn’t listen to normal cues of effect of alcohol except when the alcohol has been fully absorbed.
  • A 135 pound woman who drinks 2 Four Lokos in 2 hours will have a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) of .32-.36 (the legal limit in many states is .08)
  • Novice drinkers (many first year students) think they’re just having a drink or two not realizing that in fact they’re having 5-11 drinks.

Contact

To contact the Office of Family Engagement or Family Communications, please visit our contact page.

 

For mental health assistance: 336-758-CARE (2273) is a service that ensures someone will always be available (i.e., 24/7 M-F, weekends and university holidays) to provide caring and thoughtful consultation services for Wake Forest students in need of mental health assistance or support. You can also visit we.wfu.edu for resources.