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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah joined more than a dozen states Thursday in blasting one of the nation's largest breweries for a new fruit- flavored malt liquor aimed at young people.
Top law enforcement officials, including Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, are calling on Pabst Brewing Co. to stop selling or reduce the amount of alcohol in Blast by Colt 45, which hit the market earlier this year. The carbonated beverage comes in brightly decorated 23.5-ounce cans containing 12 percent alcohol by volume, about the same amount as four to five regular 12-ounce beers.
It is literally a binge in a can, Pabst is irresponsible for making one drink that can cause someone to be legally drunk.
–Mark Shurtleff
"It is literally a binge in a can," Shurtleff said. “Pabst is irresponsible for making one drink that can cause someone to be legally drunk.”
Blast cannot be sold in Utah grocery stores due to a 2008 law outlawing the sale of flavored malt beverages, sometimes called "alcopops." The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control does not stock Blast in state liquor stores nor does it carry competitors such Four Loko and Joose.
In a letter to Pabst, 16 attorneys general say the 23.5-ounce Blast poses a grave public safety threat, partly because it's meant to drink cold in one sitting. Blast also comes in colorful 7-ounce bottles.
"Consuming a single can of Blast on one occasion constitutes 'binge drinking,' which is defined as men drinking five (and women four) or more alcohol servings," the letter states.
According to Pabst, the company's advertising efforts for Blast are focused on responsbile drinking. Printed on each can is "Please drink responsibly" and the alcohol content is clearly marked.
The target market for Blast is 21- to 29-year-old men and women. But state officials say it may also attract underage drinkers.
“Pabst has sunk to a new low by selling highly alcoholic drinks aimed at the youngest drinkers,” said Shurtleff, chairman of the Youth Access to Alcohol and Drugs Committee for the National Association of Attorneys General.
"To me, it is subterfuge. They are marketing to youth," Shurtleff said, adding he's concerned young Utahns will cross state lines to buy Blast.
In the letter written by Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Ganser, law enforcers also criticize Pabst for hiring rapper and hip-hop star Snoop Dogg as the celebrity face for Blast, contending he's popular with the under-21 crowd.
"I hope our letter to Pabst to take swift and responsible action is also heeded by other companies who produce these super-sized 'alcopops,'" said assistant attorney general Thom Roberts, who is working with other states to stop Blast and similar drinks.
Signing the letter were attorneys general in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Guam Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah and the San Francisco city attorney.
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