(DES MOINES, Iowa) Attorney General Tom Miller joined more than a dozen attorneys general in expressing concerns to the maker of “Blast by Colt 45” malt beverage, which can render someone legally intoxicated after drinking a single container.|(DES MOINES, Iowa) Attorney General Tom Miller joined more than a dozen attorneys general in expressing concerns to the maker of “Blast by Colt 45” malt beverage, which can render someone legally intoxicated after drinking a single container.
Miller and the attorneys general Thursday sent a letter to Pabst Brewing Company Chairman and CEO Charles Metropoulos to convey concerns about the company’s manufacture and marketing of the fruit-flavored high alcohol content product. Blast, which contains 12% alcohol by volume, is marketed in 23.5 ounce cans.
“When someone drinks a can of this high alcohol-content beverage, which contains the equivalent of nearly five servings of alcohol, they may not realize it but they’re likely already legally drunk or close to it,” said Miller. “That’s why some have referred to this as ‘binge in a can.’ People may not realize how much alcohol they’ve consumed and it’s a recipe for a tragedy.”
Miller also expressed concerns over the company’s marketing scheme, which appears to target young adults and may attract those under the legal drinking age. “Pabst is selling Blast in brightly colored cans using kid-friendly fruit flavors, hip celebrity marketing, and slick social media sites,” Miller said. “The product and its marketing set the stage for very young people drinking very large amounts of alcohol. I’m asking the company to rethink what it’s doing here.”
Miller and the attorneys general urged the company “to take immediate steps to significantly reduce the number of servings of alcohol presented to consumers in a single serving container to as to eliminate the serious public safety risks” posed by Blast.|
