MillerCoors will delay the launch of its Sparks Red caffeinated alcohol drink after 25 state attorneys general asked the company to ditch the product, the Chicago Tribune reported Sept. 20.

Sparks Red contains 8 percent alcohol, higher than the existing versions of Sparks and significantly more than most beer, which ranges from 4 to 5 percent. The company said it was "placing the brewing and distribution of the product on hold" to engage in talks with the states.

"This decision keeps this dangerous product off our shelves and out of the hands of young consumers whose health would have been placed at risk," said New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

In a Sept. 17 letter to MillerCoors, the attorneys general cited research indicating that combining stimulants such as caffeine with alcohol reduces the perception of intoxication, and also expressed concerns that such products are marketed to underage youth.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed a lawsuit last month seeking to block MillerCoors from selling the Sparks line of alcoholic energy drinks. Previously, Anheuser-Busch announced that it would stop including stimulants in its Bud Extra and Tilt products.

George Hacker, director of CSPI's Alcohol Policies Project told Join Together that MillerCoors' decision to delay the rollout of Sparks Red was a step in the right direction. "It's refreshing to see that another major brewer has begun to demonstrate some caution before throwing a new alcoholic-energy drink on the market," said Hacker. "Now we suggest, as we have with our lawsuit, that the company seriously consider dumping the whole category."

Alcoholic energy drinks have been increasingly popular with breweries as sales of traditional beer continue to decline. Nevertheless, Sparks is a small fraction -- about one percent -- of Miller's annual production in the United States, according to the editor of the trade magazine Beer Marketer's Insights.