Maine Attorney General Calls on Pabst Brewing Company to Stop Selling or Alter New Product ?Blast? by Colt 45

April 21, 2011

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

?Binge?In-A-Can? Equivalent to Five Beers in One Serving

AUGUSTA ? Maine Attorney General William J. Schneider, along with 16 other attorneys general, today called on Pabst Brewing Company to stop selling or alter its new malt beverage, ?Blast? by Colt 45, because of its high alcohol content and marketing tactics. Known as ?binge-in-a-can?, the drink contains the equivalent of five beers in one serving and is marketed in a way that targets underage youth.

?At a time when we?re fighting to prevent underage drinking and binge drinking among young people, I am urging Pabst to recognize the dangers posed by ?Blast?,? said Attorney General Schneider. ?Promoting this kind of a product to young, underage drinkers is reprehensible.?

Earlier this month, Pabst introduced its ?Blast? by Colt 45 as a carbonated malt beverage in fruit flavors of grape, strawberry, lemonade, strawberry watermelon and blueberry pomegranate, all with an alcohol concentration level of 12% in brightly colored 23.5 ounce single serving cans. A standard serving of alcohol is any drink (whether beer, wine or distilled spirits) that contains 0.6 fluid ounces or 14 grams of ?pure? ethyl alcohol. Each 23.5 ounce can of ?Blast? contains nearly five servings of alcohol.

As a result, consuming a single can of ?Blast? in about two hours constitutes ?binge drinking? as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Such excessive drinking typically leads to acute intoxication that can be harmful for a variety of reasons, including impaired brain functioning. This can result in poor judgment, reduced reaction time, loss of balance and motor skills, and slurred speech. Coma and death can occur if alcohol is consumed rapidly and in large amounts.

Given these dangers, the CDC recently declared binge drinking to be a major public health problem in the United States. Binge drinking increases the chances of motor vehicle crashes, violence, HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancy, sudden infant death syndrome, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. These health risks pose a particular threat to youth, given that about 90% of the alcohol consumed by Americans under age 21 is while binge drinking.

In addition to offering this high alcohol malt beverage in youth-friendly flavors, Pabst has enlisted celebrity hip hop/rap music artist Snoop Dogg to promote ?Blast?, largely through social media sites such as YouTube and Twitter. ?These marketing practices raise serious concerns that Pabst is targeting an audience that is under the legal drinking age,? according to Attorney General Schneider.

Last fall, after urging by attorneys general and a review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the popular alcohol energy drink Four Loko was pulled from the market after reports that children as young as 13 were drinking the product, which also had a 12% alcohol concentration in a 23.5 ounce single serving can. The drink also had a caffeine additive, which the FDA later banned, that enabled consumers of the product to stay awake and drink more.

In addition to Maine, the attorneys general of the following states and U.S. Territory signed on to the letter to Pabst Brewing Company: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington.

More information regarding alcohol consumption can be found at the following links:

http://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/WhatCountsDrink/WhatsAstandardDrink.asp

http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm

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CONTACT: Brenda Kielty (207)626-8577