Citation

Mosher JF, Johnsson D. J. Public Health Policy 2005; 26(3): 326-342.

Affiliation

Center for the Study of Law and Enforcement Policy, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 6062 Graham Hill Road, Suite B, Felton, CA 95018, USA. (jmosher@pire.org)

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group -- Palgrave-Macmillan)

DOI

10.1057/palgrave.jphp.3200037

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Flavored alcoholic beverages (FABs) were first introduced into the alcohol market in the early 1980s in the form of wine coolers. FABs are sweet, relatively low alcohol content beverages that are designed for "entry-level" drinkers. The alcohol industry has introduced new products and production methods to expand the category's popularity. Research suggests that they are popular with underage drinkers, particularly teenage girls, and that the industry uses marketing practices that appear to target youth. FABs are now marketed globally, and their production and marketing vary by country based on national regulatory restraints. In the United States, industry representations that the products are malt beverages for regulatory purposes appears to violate many state laws because the alcohol in the FABs is derived from distilled spirits. Recommendations for regulatory reform, including new legal definitions of FABs, increased taxes, and restrictions on availability, are applicable at both national and state levels.

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