For
Immediate Release—Monday, Nov. 27, 2006
Contact:
Mary
E. McCrank
Media
Relations Officer
(585)
245-5516
SUNY Geneseo Professor
Researching Controversial Cocaine Energy Drink
GENESEO, N.Y.—The new high-caffeine energy
drink Cocaine has caught the attention of a professor in the State University
of New York at Geneseo's School of Business, who is researching the ethical
issues involved in the marketing of the drink.
Ian Alam, assistant
professor of marketing at Geneseo, is concerned the drink—which contains
350 percent more caffeine than the leading energy drink Red Bull—is
dangerous and being targeted to college students.
The controversial drink,
which hit the U.S. market a few months ago, carries the tagline "the legal
alternative" and comes in a red can with a white logo meant to resemble the
powder drug. An 8.4-fluid ounce can of the drink contains 280 milligrams of
caffeine, compared to 80 milligrams of caffeine in an 8.3-fluid ounce can of
Red Bull. It does not contain the drug cocaine. The drink is produced by Redux
Beverages, LLC, which is based in Valley Center, Ca., and registered in Las
Vegas.
"The popularity of energy
drinks is going up very fast," says Alam. "This whole train started with
Mountain Dew. They came up with a very successful high-caffeine drink, and many
companies have since improved on their model. Red Bull is probably the best and
most well-known example of energy drinks on the market today."
"These drinks are largely
targeted to college students, who use the drinks to stay awake at night in
order to study or just have fun," says Alam.
Cocaine has a cherry, or
fireball, taste and contains taurine, an amino acid important in making bile to
aid digestion; guarana, a seed from South America that contains caffeine;
dextrose; vitamin C; vitamins B-6 and B-12; and inositol. The drink contains 70
calories, and has only the necessary ingredients for the energy kick, which is
advertised to last up to five hours. The sugar buzz is derived from the
dextrose, a simple sugar that doesn't need to be broken down by the body, and a
larger dose of vitamin B-12.
Alam is concerned college
students and other consumers will forget about the health risks involved with
consuming energy drinks when they are met with the clever marketing scheme of
Cocaine. Such health risks include heart irregularities, nausea, vomiting and
electrolyte disturbances. In addition, Alam says, energy drinks are
particularly dangerous when consumed with alcohol.
Alam is conducting his
research through focus group interviews with consumers and by talking to
managers at other energy drink companies.
"The two main issues I am looking
at in terms of ethics are the brand name and the ingredients," says Alam. "I
want to find out what safeguards companies should take when marketing these
types of products to college students."
"So far, the students that I
have talked to in my focus groups feel very positive about the drink. The
managers have a much different take, however. They say that naming the drink
Cocaine is a poor marketing decision because it makes the industry look bad in
the eyes of the government, who will likely start to focus on the implications
the industry is having on our youth," says Alam.
Although Alam's research is
still ongoing, he has formulated a strong opinion about Cocaine.
"It is obvious they need to
change the name of the drink, as well as reduce the taurine content. The phrase
'legal alternative' also should be eliminated from the tagline completely,"
says Alam.
"The people behind Cocaine
have a very clever marketing scheme. Everything needs to be unique in
marketing. You have to break through the clutter of all the other marketing
campaigns to be successful. This drink has certainly done that. Unfortunately,
Cocaine is addictive to consumers. It has the ability to seriously impair
consumers' judgment and have a bad effect on the health of those who drink it,"
says Alam.
According to the company's
Web site, drinkcocaine.com, Cocaine is available in New York, California, New
Jersey, Texas and Connecticut. In addition, it is available for purchase from
several vendors on amazon.com. The drink is steadily becoming more popular and
better recognized throughout the rest of the country. The company has a Cocaine
tour bus that makes stops throughout the country. It has yet to stop in the
Rochester area.
The energy drink has met
some early challenges. The 7-Eleven convenient store operator recently told
franchises not to stock it, and after its rollout in New York City in
September, several small stores banned it. Australia also has banned the drink.
Alam is a resident of
Brighton, N.Y., and has been teaching at SUNY Geneseo since 2001. This year, he
received a Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching. He received his
bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Calcutta in India in 1982,
his Master of Business Administration from Aligarh University in India in 1985,
his master's in business in marketing from Queensland University of Technology
in Australia in 1995 and his doctorate in marketing from the University of
Southern Queensland in Australia in marketing in 2000.
Anyone interested in talking
with Alam about this product may contact him at alam@geneseo.edu or (585) 245-5372.
###
Written by Joe Mignano,
public relations intern in the Office of Communications and Publications.