Lake Oswego, Oregon

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. was subpoenaed by attorneys general from several states, including Oregon, for information about the sales and marketing of its caffeinated alcoholic drinks Tilt and Bud Extra.
The attorneys general for New York, Maine, Maryland, Arizona, and Iowa issued the subpoena to A-B, the company confirmed Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that the country’s second-largest brewer, Miller Brewing Co., was also issued a subpoena for similar reasons.

A-B said it was cooperating with the subpoenas, but said that the attorneys general are investigating products whose formulation and labeling already have been approved by the federal authorities, as well as by those states that require state liquor authority approval.

In August 2007, attorneys general of 30 states wrote a letter to federal authorities expressing concerns over the marketing of alcoholic energy drinks, including those made by Miller and A-B. The letter targeted BudExtra, produced by A-B; Sparks and Sparks Plus drinks produced by Milwaukee-based Miller; and Liquid Charge and Liquid Core, produced by Charge Beverages of Lake Oswego, Ore.

At the time, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann said that aggressive marketing campaigns claim the alcoholic energy beverages increase a person’s stamina or can have an energizing effect, citing BudExtra’s advertising slogan, “You can sleep when you’re thirty.”

The ads, however, fail to mention the “potentially severe, adverse consequences of mixing caffeine or other stimulants and alcohol,” the attorneys general said at the time.

A-B said when the complaint was made that August to the Tax and Trade Bureau that the agency took no action and explained to the attorneys general that it had thoroughly reviewed, monitored, and approved the labeling and formulation of these drinks.

“Caffeinated alcohol beverages are nothing new; for decades adults have consumed cocktails like Rum and Coke, Jack and Coke, and Irish Coffee,” said Francine Katz, vice president of communications and consumer affairs for Anheuser-Busch Inc. “If the attorneys general truly believe that despite the state and federal regulatory approvals, alcohol and caffeine should not be mixed, then they should use their powers to persuade these authorities to regulate or ban all such beverages, not just the lower-alcohol, pre-packaged ones.”

St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. (NYSE: BUD), through its Anheuser-Busch Inc. subsidiary, is the leading domestic brewer, holding a 48.5 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company also manufactures and recycles aluminum cans and operates theme parks.