Attorneys General and Marin Institute Lambaste Pabst's 'Blast' Beverage

Yikes.

No wonder Pabst Brewing Company's aptly named new malt beverage, ''Blast'' is being called a ''binge-in-a-can'', according to the April 28th walletpop.com article, ''Pabst Asked to Lower Alcohol Content in New Blast Drink''.

Douglas F. Gansler, Maryland's Attorney General, wrote a letter to Pabst, and was quoted as saying: ''At a time when we're fighting to prevent underage and binge drinking, we call upon Pabst to rethink the dangers posed by Blast, promoted by a popular hip-hop celebrity, as a 'binge-in-a-can' in sweet flavors and bright colors aimed at the youngest drinkers. I hope our letter asking Pabst to take swift and responsible action will also be heeded by other companies who produce these unsafe 'supersized' alcopops.''

The letter was also signed by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Guam, and the city attorney of San Francisco.

A statement by Pabst's public relations firm stated the following: ''Blast is only meant to be consumed by those above legal drinking age and does not contain caffeine. As with all Pabst products, our marketing efforts for Blast are focused on conveying the message of drinking responsibly. To that end, the alcohol content of Blast is clearly marked on its packaging, we are encouraging consumers to consider mixing Blast with other beverages or enjoy it over ice, and we are offering a special 7-ounce bottle for those who prefer a smaller quantity, among other important initiatives.''

It's oft been said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Gansler's letter also stated that ''the level of alcohol in Blast is high enough that if someone drank the entire can, it would be considered binge drinking.''

According to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, annually there are 79,000 alcohol related deaths in the United States, and binge drinking accounts for over half of those deaths.

Marin Institute Executive Director Bruce Lee Livingston was quoted as saying in a statement: ''Unfortunately a number of flavored, malt beverage alcopops are supersized. We are hopeful that other attorneys general join this action against Blast, and also include similar dangerous products like Four Loko, Joose and Tilt.''

According to information at the organization's website, ''the Marin Institute fights to protect the public from the impact of the alcohol industry's negative practices'', and monitors and exposes ''the alcohol industry's harmful actions related to products, promotions and social influence, and supports communities in their efforts to reject these damaging activities.''