Man wants to take fizz out of caffeinated alcoholic drink: Sprinkle plans to sue after daughter suffers an allergic reaction after drinking a MillerCoors energy beer

Dec 01, 2008 (The Wilson Daily Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- BUD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Mike Sprinkle wants to sue the company that produces an alcoholic energy drink he says nearly killed his daughter this summer.

Sprinkle said that on the night of July 20, his 23-year-old daughter, Amanda, drank half a can of orange-flavored Sparks, an alcoholic energy drink made by MillerCoors, at their Wiggins Mill Road home then suddenly collapsed at her computer desk.

Amanda's eyes had rolled back, Sprinkle recalled, and she had no pulse. It was only after he performed CPR on her and took her to Wilson Medical Center that she was later determined to be fine.

He says doctors pointed out the energy drink as a likely culprit.

"Honestly, if I hadn't been sitting there that night, she probably would have died," Sprinkle said.

Since then, Sprinkle has been unsuccessfully trying to organize a class action lawsuit against MillerCoors for producing Sparks, a 6 percent alcohol energy drink sold by the company. According to the MillerCoors Web site, the drink comes in three flavors -- original, light and plus -- and contains the stimulants caffeine and guarana, not normally used in alcoholic beverages.

MillerCoors, which uses a media hotline for newspaper inquiries, did not return calls seeking comment on this case.

Sprinkle, who turned over samples of Amanda's beer to the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for testing, has gone to several attorneys in the area who have all turned him down.

He said they have told him that his is too small a case, that they lack the experience to cover it, and that he should join an existing lawsuit. But Sprinkle insists he wants to sue to keep the same thing from happening to another parent.

"As a parent, I don't want another parent to go through this," Sprinkle said.

Sprinkle is not alone, though.

After the incident, Sprinkle shared information about Amanda's reaction with officials at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that in September sued MillerCoors for producing the drink.

The suit argues that Sparks, which is marketed to young adults and teens as a starter drink, and other caffeinated alcoholic beverages are dangerous because they mask the effects of drunkenness and thus lead to increased binge drinking, drunk driving and other reckless behavior. The suit also contends that guarana, caffeine, ginseng and taurine, all used in the beverage, are illegal for use in alcoholic beverages.

CSPI is asking the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to stop MillerCoors from producing the beer, which is also being looked at by attorneys general in several states.

Steve Gardner, director of litigation for CSPI, said his organization in February threatened Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors with its intention to sue, with the former company complying and agreeing to take unapproved ingredients out of its Bud Extra and Tilt products.

But Gardner said that while officials have talked to Sprinkle and others about their complaints concerning the drink and others like it, CSPI at this point is not considering the possibility of a class action lawsuit based on Sprinkle's complaints or those of others it is interviewing.

"We're just checking facts," Gardner said.

Gardner, who coined the term "alcospeed" to describe alcoholic energy drinks, said the drinks are especially dangerous because they are marketed as starter drinks to young teens.

Art Resnick, director of public affairs for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, which operates in the U.S. Department of Treasury, said the sample of beer taken from Sprinkle's home has not been analyzed yet.

Resnick said that after the product has been analyzed, and if it is determined there is a health hazard, the bureau would refer it to the Food and Drug Administration or MillerCoors, depending on the severity of the issue.

Sprinkle said he has heard of others like his daughter who have had similar reactions to Sparks, though he has been able to track no one down yet.

Sprinkle, who has been out of work after losing his business in 2007, is adamant about holding the company accountable to his family and those of any others who have been hurt by its Sparks products.

He said if another young person were to drink it, not knowing what its consequences were, "anything could happen."

avelarde@wilsontimes.com -- 265-7868

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