USA: "Alcopops" to be classified for tax purposes as beer or distilled spirits: debates

California senators are considering whether to reclassify a popular type of alcoholic drink critics call "alcopops," News10 commented on February 14. Currently the fruity-flavored malt beverages are classified for tax purposes as beer, but critics of the drinks want them classified as distilled spirits.

The new classification would increase the tax and mean they couldn't be sold in convenience stores. Critics of the drinks say they are increasingly popular with teenage girls. In fact, one recent study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest showed nearly half of 14- to 18-year-old girls have tried them.

A bill introduced by senators Carol Migden and Liz Figueroa aims to protect teens from being targeted by alcopop marketing and sales practices. Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year but called for public debate on the issue.

Today Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, is holding a hearing of the Senate Governmental Organization Committee over whether to reclassify the drinks. A high school senior from Tulare testified at the hearing that as many as 80 percent of her classmates drink but that they don't think it's a problem because they think the alcohol content is lower than in other types of alcoholic beverages. She held up two drinks that looked the same. "It looks like punch," said Marisol Quevedo. "It doesn't look like hard alcohol or liquor. So it's really appealing."

The California Grocers Association says it is against making alcohol available to minors, but it wants alcopops to remain classified as beer. The CGA says it's an issue of unfair taxation because classifying them as hard liquor would raise the tax from 20 cents to $3.30 per gallon.

Other industry representatives believe the problem isn't what kids drinks, it's the fact they drink at all. "I think this is a misguided solution that's distracting us from real solutions that can tackle the problem," said Marc Sorini of the Flavored Malt Beverage Coalition. Sorini said his industry does not target underage people to entice them to drink.

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