Alcopop

An alcopop (or cooler) is any of certain mixed alcoholic beverages with relatively low alcohol content (e.g., 3–7% alcohol by volume), including:

1. Malt beverages to which various fruit juices
   or other flavorings have been added
2. Wine coolers: beverages containing wine to which ingredients such as fruit juice or other flavorings have been added
3. distilled alcohol and sweet liquids such as fruit juices or other flavourings^[1]

There are a variety of beverages produced and marketed around the world as well as within each market which are described as coolers or alcopops. They tend to be

Through its Alcopop-Free Zone® campaign, "[6] Alcohol Justice has sought to ban alcopop sales entirely since the sweet and brightly colored alcoholic drinks may appeal to children. Many cooler advertising campaigns have been criticized as trying to make alcopops appeal to young drinkers. In the United Kingdom, a media outcry during the mid-1990s arose as the tabloid press associated alcopops with under-age drinking which damaged sales and led to British liquor stores withdrawing them from their shelves.

In response to a complaint from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) conducted an extensive investigation in 2001. The agency "found no evidence of intent to target minors with FMB products, packaging, or advertising. Furthermore, after reviewing the consumer survey evidence submitted by CSPI in support of the proposition that FMBs were predominantly popular with minors, the FTC concluded that flaws in the survey's methodology limited the ability to draw conclusions from the survey data."

The Federal Trade Commission again in 2003 investigated FMB ads, product placement, and internal company marketing documents after a directive from the conferees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. "The Commission's investigation found no evidence of targeting underage consumers in the marketing of FMBs. Adults 21 to 29 appear to be the intended target of FMB marketing"^[7] and found that "the majority of FMB drinkers are over the age of 27."^[8]

In December 2003,

The Federal Trade Commission report states, "Further, industry-conducted research on consumers over the age of 21 who use FMBs shows that these consumers generally view the FMBs as substitutes for beer, ... This research also concludes that consumers are not likely to consume more than two or three FMBs on any occasion because of the products' sweetness.[8]

In March 2018, Coca-Cola announced it would be launching an alcopop product for the first time, a chūhai beverage in Japan.^[11]

Brands

The Australian government increased the tax on these drinks under the 2008 budget to the same rate as spirits, volumetrically, in an effort to stop binge drinking. The tax was criticized by the opposition as a tax grab, and voted down in the Senate on March 18, 2009.^[13] Before its rejection, the tax had already raised at least A$290 million after April 2008.^[14] In April 2009, some Labor party MPs planned to resubmit the tax to the Senate,^[14] and it was finally approved in August 2009, increasing the tax on the drinks from $39.36 to $66.67 per litre of alcohol.^[15] A 2013 study concluded that the tax had no impact on binge drinking of the drinks by teenagers.^[16]

Germany

On 1 July 2004 the German government increased the tax on mixed drinks based on spirits (e.g. vodka, rum) by roughly one Euro per 275-ml-bottle in order to discourage teenagers drinking excessively, although those drinks were already prohibited for those under the age of 18. This had two implications: The most common alcopops, such as

In 2019, some senators including Pia Cayetano and former Special Assistant to the President Bong Go called for pullout of alcopops from the market due to "deceptive packaging that resembles fruit juices usually bought by young consumers". Alcopops also have seven percent alcohol content, which is slightly lower than that of local beer brand Red Horse Beer.^[17][18]

Sweden

Systembolaget blocked the sale of alcoholic soft drinks in Sweden until mid-1996, when Alkoholsortimentsnämnden decided, with reference to Treaty of Rome Article 30, that Systembolaget could not refuse to sell certain products. This led to great debate, where the marketing of the alcoholic soft drink was considered to be aimed above all at young people.^[19] After initially great sales successes, the popularity has now declined, and many of the alcoholic drinks' market share s have been taken over by sweeter varieties of cider that share many characteristics with the soft drink but have been fermented to their alcoholic strength.^{[citation needed]}

United Kingdom

In June 1997, Co-op Food became the first major retailer to place an outright ban on the sale of alcopops in its shops.^[20] This has since been revoked.

See also

• Borg (drink)
• Chuhai
• Comparison of alcopops
• Hard seltzer
• Hard soda
• Jello shot
• Jungle juice
• Nutcracker (drink)
• Purple drank
• Queen Mary (beer cocktail)

References