January 02, 2011

Cocaine the Soft Drink Being Sold in the United States

It was a little bit disturbing to me when I found out there is a soft drink being sold in the United States called "Cocaine". Made by Redux Beverages, LLC, they have a very aggressive marketing campaign using the tagline "Cocaine is a hell of a drug!" with a website DrinkCocaine.com, YouTube channel, Twitter feed, and a Facebook page (over 3500 fans).

It is marketed as an energy drink high on caffeine and packs 750 grams of taurine like most energy drinks. Unlike Four Loko (pulled off the market), it contains no alcohol.

Even in spite of the warning label on the can:

"WARNING: This message is for the people who are too stupid to recognize the obvious. This product does not contain cocaine(duh). This product is not intended to be an alternative to an illicit street drug, and anyone who thinks otherwise is an idiot."

What's next?

An orange juice called "Marijuana"?

Bottled water called "Roofie"?

Labeling benign food/drink items with illicit drug names is a travesty and should be banned. In essence, such illicit drugs are receiving free advertisement and can desensitize children to how dangerous these drugs are given the sugar-coating and flippant warning and potentially lead them to become users later in life.

Given the restrictions on cigarette ads imposed by law, I shudder to think when cigarette companies get wind of this marketing ploy and start producing water called "Malboro" and a candy bar called "Camels" as a form of indirect advertisement to get around the restrictions.

Remember the cigarette candies of the 1970s - 1990s now banned in many countries?

Illicit drug names should go the way of the Dodo as well...
Fauquier blog
Fauquier ENT

Dr. Christopher Chang is a private practice otolaryngology, head & neck surgeon specializing in the treatment of problems related to the ear, nose, and throat. Located in Warrenton, VA about 45 minutes west of Washington DC, he also provides inhalant allergy testing/treatment, hearing tests, and dispenses hearing aids.

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