Location: Home > food > California cracks down on sweet malt liquor
California cracks down on sweet malt liquorPosted Jan 21st 2006 3:23PM by Nick VagnoniFiled under: Beer, West Coast, Newspapers, SpiritsIn an effort to curb underage drinking, two California senators have launched a plan to make sweet malt liquor
products like Mike's Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice more expensive, less available and less aggressively advertised.
Democratic Senators Carole Migden of San Francisco and Liz Figueroa of Sunol feel that the makers of sweet, carbonated
drinks they call 'alcopops' are illegally targeting underage drinkers with their advertising. Advertising that is
"intended to encourage minors to drink" alcohol is illegal in California. According to a recent Sacramento Bee
article, the senators' proposed legislation would eliminate the need to prove intent. The other approach contained
in the proposed law would change the tax status of such sweet drinks from that of brewed alcohol (like beer) to
distilled spirits--a tax jump of over $3 per gallon. Opponents say that the proposal unfairly targets drinkers of legal
age, as it would make malt beverages unavailable in restaurants that have only beer and wine licenses. Moreover,
opponents of the proposal say that those selling liquor to underage drinkers should be targeted over advertisers.
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