Don't be taken in by the sweetness of alcopops (alcoholic soda drinks). The buzz they deliver can cause much trouble
If you want to get extra high, mix Red Bull and alcopop.
Some things don't mix, like your stead and your ex. But we trust you already know that. It is what you don't know that kills. In Sweden, three young people found that out too late when, in an attempt to get high, they drank a mixture of Red Bull and alcohol. The price they paid? Their lives. Buzz drinks like Red Bull is okay on its own but when mixed with alcohol, there's no knowing what the effect can be. Even experts are still nonplussed by the deaths of the Swedish youths.
Drinking alcopops won't turn you into an alcoholic like hard liquour can.
What can that little bottle of soda-like alcopop do to you? After all, only 4.5 to 6 percent of it is alcohol. It can get you started on alcohol, that's what. Because of its hip packaging, many teens do not associate drinking alcopops with alcoholics. Sure, you're only after the buzz, but soon, you'll need more hardcore drinks to deliver the high. And before you know it, it's Jack Daniels on the rocks you're ordering. Scary thought.
It's cool to be seen drinking an alcopop.
Your friends may be there to egg you to take that first sip. But will they be there when you're detoxing yourself? Most teens who try drugs and alcohol do so because they want to fit in with peers who are already indulging, or because they are curious about what will happen. There's no denying that peer pressure is a big factor. Some teens feel slighted by friends and turn to the intoxicants as an escape. Others try it because they don't want to be ostracised. It is very easy to give in to the urge to try these things and not so easy to stop once you start.
Alcopops don't contain as much alcohol as beer.
Before the facts are revealed, put down that beer and sit down. That pretty bottle of sweet-tasting alcopop actually contains the same or higher percentage of alcohol as an 8-ounce bottle of beer. You probably don't think so because, unlike beer, alcopops taste like soda and not bitter like beer. In fact, alcopops are "gateway drugs" that ease young people into drinking and pave the way to more traditional alcoholic beverages. Your tongue may be fooled but don't be fooled yourself.
Unlike beer or wine, you can down a few bottles of alcopop and still drive.
Unless you're on a suicide trip, the answer is: stick to non-alcoholic beverages. Sure, your friends may laugh at you for being such a prude but they won't be laughing when they found out you're in an accident because of drink-driving. Under the Singapore Road Traffic Act, you can be convicted of drink-driving if you are found with more than the legal limit of 35 ug (microgrammes) of alcohol per 100ml of breath, or more than 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. As long as your breath or blood alcohol exceeds the legal limit, you are deemed to have broken the law even if you have perfect control of your vehicle when you are caught. Drink-driving causes a maximum SGD5,000 fine or six months' jail.
Labels: alcoholic, alcoholic soda drinks, alcopops, gateway drugs, hard liquour
