ALBANY, N.Y. ? One New York State senator wants to remove fruit-flavored alcoholic beverages from convenience stores and sell the so-called ?alcopops? only in liquor stores, the Times-Union reports. Sen. Jeffrey Klein sponsored a proposal that would restrict the sales of all fruit-flavored drinks that have more than 6 percent alcohol and 1 percent sugar to liquor stores only.
The Senate Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, of which Klein is the chair, held a hearing on the bill last week. Currently alcopops are classified as beer. Brands that would be affected by the bill include Joose, Tilt, Four Loko and Blast.
James Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores (NYACS), testified at the public hearing. ?As parents, citizens, and community businesspeople, we share the Sen. Klein?s commitment to preventing youth access to alcoholic beverages,? he said. ?Flavored malt beverages, which we?ve been selling for 10 years or more, are a small fraction of our business. But given New York?s hostile tax policies, which continue to chase away our core customers, every single product we carry is vital to keeping our stores afloat.?
?The National Survey on Drug Use and Health consistently shows that the vast majority of underage drinkers get alcohol not by purchasing it directly from retail stores, but from adult friends, relatives and acquaintances who either give it to them or buy it for them. Among underage drinkers in 2009, only 9 percent bought the alcohol themselves. Thus, removing these products from convenience stores would only nibble around the edges of the youth access problem, because 90 percent of minors who manage to get FMBs now would still be able to access them,? Calvin pointed out.
?Moreover, it?s a myth that liquor stores are impervious to minors. Every year, liquor stores are among the licensed New York establishments charged with and penalized for underage sales to an undercover minor,? he said. ?In view of the above, NYACS opposes removing flavored malt beverages from convenience stores, because it would further weaken our businesses without solving the youth access problem.?
Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration considered banning drinks that had both caffeine and alcohol, and the beverage manufacturers choose to take the caffeine out of the drinks.
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