Training wheels of booze

By Marilyn Linton, Sun Media

Pretty in pink. And orange and the most delicious lime green. They make you think bubble gum, Creamsicles and frozen limeade.

But they're available only at the liquor store, not the candy store or ice cream parlour.

And no matter how lip-smacking finger-licking good they are, they're 5% alcohol and consumed by girls who've barely left the Barbie stage.

A report from the American Medical Association (AMA) this past spring warned that these girlie drinks or alcopops are being drunk by girls of the average age of 13. (In the U.K., where some of these drinks originated, 56% of 11- and 12-year-olds consume them.)

One industry spokesperson called them "the perfect bridging beverage."

They're also known as "malternatives," flavoured malt beverages, RTDs (ready to drink), or FABs (flavoured alcoholic beverages.

But the AMA calls them "gateway" drinks, targeted at innocent tastebuds and designed to initiate kids into the world of booze.

They're the alcohol version of training wheels on a bicycle.

Their sweetness and flavouring hide the taste of alcohol and attract inexperienced drinkers: At 5% alcohol and tasting like strawberry shortcake, they are merely stepping stones to a 7% alcoholic beverage — many of which are also flavoured.

From there, kids (presumably older but not necessarily legal drinking age) graduate to the kind of booze their parents drink — 13.5% alcohol wines or 35% alcohol vodka or rum.

But a taste for the hard stuff isn't the only thing these drinks seem to be promoting.

In one nationwide survey, the AMA found that nearly one in six teen girls who have consumed alcopops in the past six months has been sexually active after drinking.

An AMA ad notes that starter girlie drinks can lead to women's diseases including STDs.

Take Sejuice, a vodka cooler with passionfruit and melon: It's not only a clever wordplay on seduction, but it also shows lipstick prints on its label and boxes.

Juicey Cruiser, at 5% alcohol, looks like orange pop as does Sex on the Beach, a vodka and peach schnapps refresher.

Then there's S&X, a vodka lemon that says it all and, at $1.95 for a 275 ml bottle, is affordable to your average babysitter.

According to the AMA, approximately one-third of teen girls report having tried alcopops.