My child just came home last nigh after consuming vodka and blue demon and if you can imagine a dead person standing that is what he looked like. His eyes were dialated He was cold and sweating at the same time. There was no color in his face at all. I mean he was grey just like someone who was just taken off of life support! Whats my point,its this we educate our children and do not in any way condone drinking 0 tolerence and I know other than locking him up 24-7 I could not have stopped this. I pray up and check up and things still happen. It's not cool and this time we were blessed but to anyone else you may not be so luckY. Don't be stupid!!!

Parents and their children need to be in a relationship where the questions: who are they going to be with, what are they going to be doing, and where they will be at all times can be answered honestly, with check in times, especially where there will be an extended time of seperation by the child and or parents. Peer pressure is very real and dangerous. This is not an overly intrusive situation. These kids and young adults are seduced by our culture and other friends into attending these parties and/or participating in this behavior. If the parents drink then it is especially risky to their children, where they just go along with what they have been taught from example. I have been there, experienced it, and made bad decisions, of which I regret now, but cannot change the past, only my future. There is a far better way to live, and much better choices to make. Everyone has choices to make continually through every day. Education is very important and can help, but the person deciding to drink is ultimately responsible for their own actions and it would be great if they would think of others and the possible consequences, not only themselves.

the statement "she wasn't the kind to drink" is just one more example of the public's general denial of alcohol problems and teens. Everyone who goes to a party where there is alcohol being consumed is at risk for being "the kind that drinks". Teens continually put themselves in that risky situation and suffering the consequences for it. Parents and other adult leaders must step up efforts to get the message of the dangers of alcohol to teens and pre-teens! Adults have to take a stand against the alcohol companies the same way that consumers have taken a stand against tobacco companies!

I understand all of the concerns and complaints with the manufacturing companies of all the alcoholic energy drinks, but there is also something to be said about the education of the minors drinking. Making the manufactures scapegoats will not help underage drinkers learn anything other than thats it's "not their fault" If kids were able to experience alcohol in a supervised environment, they would better understand the effects, and therefore have a better chance at avoiding alcohol related injuries

I too, am in the D/A field, and feel that our younger generation needs to be educated, instead of everyone attacking manufacturers, and distillers.- I have also been made aware that consumption of Redbull & Jagermeister & Vodka is very popular as well....

Equating beverages such as Sparks and Tilt with Irish coffee is disingenuous, at best. Irish coffee is not sold in convenience store coolers and marketed as helping young people to “party all night” or “go longer.” Researchers at Wake Forest found that the mixing of alcohol and energy drinks led to increased prevalence of a number of alcohol-related harms.

Alcohol in massive excess kills people, whether it is mixed with energy drinks or water. Often it kills people because they vomit and inhale the vomitus. That too, happens no matter what else is ingested. The message should be -- do not drink to excess. Articles like this, sadly, create focus on the other substances ingested. Granted, the energy drink might have a small effect in keeping the victim awake longer to drink more alcohol, but it is alcohol that kills.

Better get the bars to stop serving Irish coffee, then. Alcohol and stimulants have been combined for centuries. Shouldn't you at least wait for the tox report before calling for public action?

I am a prevention educator and director of our community's drug-free coalition and we too have been educating our community on this issue. I echo Bret's comments that the alcohol industry is once again explemifying unresponsible marketing ethics in producing alcohol energy drinks. I would even go so far as state, the alcohol industry should be held accountable for any teen deaths by alcohol energy drinks. Our community experienced a homicide that the perp admitted to "only" drinking Sparks (alcohol energy drink). BIG ALCOHOL must be stopped!

I work as an addictions counselor. We have been working on educating our community on this very subject. What are the alcohol companies thinking, putting a stimulant in a in a CNS deperesent? All this will do is mask the alcohol effect so you feel like you can drink more. Please take them off the market. I am so sorry about this young lady. I hope the distelliers are happy about their profits for this quarter.