Sold under catchy names, these fruit-flavored beverages come in oversized containers reminiscent of nonalcoholic sports drinks and sodas, and critics warn that this is no accident. The drinks, they noted, are being marketed to young drinkers as a safe and affordable way to drink to excess.

One brand, a fruit-flavored malt beverage sold under the name Four Loko, has caused special concern since it was consumed by college students in New Jersey and Washington state before they ended up in the ER, some with high levels of alcohol poisoning.
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"The soft drink or energy drink imagery of these drinks is just dangerous window dressing," contends Dr. Eric A. Weiss, an emergency medicine expert at Stanford University's School of Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif. "It hides the fact that you're consuming significant amounts of alcohol. And that is potentially hazardous, because it's not only harmful to one's health, but impairs a person's coordination and judgment."