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Anti-Energy Drink Fuels Concerns Over
Marketing
Jemimah Noonoo
Houston Chronicle
November 28th, 2008
Some fear Drank is gateway to risky syrup-alcohol mix
First came Red Bull and Monster Energy, giving a
high-octane boost to late-night parties and study
sessions.
Now the anti-energy drinks have arrived, carbonated
beverages that promise to help you “slow your roll” or
“lean with it.”
But with their hip-hop-inspired advertising campaigns,
Drank and Purple Stuff are generating a buzz that is
anything but chill.
“I am very concerned about the marketing,” said Ronald
Peters, a University of Texas-Houston School of Public
Health professor. Peters has researched the phenomenon
of mixing codeine syrup with soft drinks or alcohol, a
concoction that is believed to have factored in the
deaths of three local rap stars.
“Sippin’ syrup” is believed to have originated in
Houston and it remains a common topic for Southern
rappers. “Drank,” “purple stuff” and “lean” are street
terms for the illicit mixture.
Peters said he worries the new canned beverages could be
a gateway for youth who want to experience the
slowed-down effect of cough-syrup abuse. He called the
products a step in the wrong direction and criticized
them as “one of the most asinine things I have ever
seen.”
The Rev. Michael P. Williams, pastor of Joy Baptist
Tabernacle Church in the Third Ward, said the Drank and
Purple Stuff ad campaigns recall a troubling history of
marketing such products as cigarettes and malt liquor in
African-American communities. He said the companies that
promote products like this shun “moral responsibility”
and perpetuate harmful caricatures.
“These products are deliberately marketed in inner-city
communities, where there is already some form of
pathology that exists to begin with,” Williams said.
“Crime, poverty ... these things are exacerbated by
these kind of investments.”
Drank’s creator, Peter Bianchi of Houston, defended his
product and denied targeting consumers in specific
neighborhoods.
“We have been doing well in white, middle-class
neighborhoods, too,” Bianchi said, citing strong sales
in suburban Friendswood. He said Drank, which launched
in Houston and was made available online in October, is
now sold in Austin and Dallas, as well as communities in
Missouri, New York and Connecticut.
Drank’s Web site says those using the product include
rappers, professionals, students and insomniacs. A
MySpace page dedicated to the beverage shows smiling
black youth brandishing the bottle and plays a tune by
rapper Lil Wayne: Me and My Drank (which refers to the
real thing).
Several calls to the company that makes Purple Stuff
were not returned.
At three gasoline stations in mostly black or Hispanic
neighborhoods — in Missouri City, Galena Park and Third
Ward — clerks reported the drinks were popular among
youth coming from clubs on the weekends. At the Spec’s
in downtown Houston, a representative said the drink has
been “selling well.”
But at two stations in predominantly Anglo neighborhoods
— one in far west Houston and the other in Katy’s Cinco
Ranch — clerks had not heard of Drank or Purple Stuff.
Ingredients alone are safe
Drank and Purple Stuff contain melatonin, rose hips and
valerian root, all of which have a calming effect, said
Amitava Dasgupta, a professor of pathology and
laboratory medicine at the UT Medical School in Houston.
He said valerian can ease anxiety and help people sleep.
While agreeing these ingredients are not harmful by
themselves, Dasgupta, the author of a forthcoming book
on herbal remedies, expressed concern over the lack of
research on what happens when they are mixed with
alcohol.
Bianchi, whose Innovative Beverage Group Inc. also
distributes Arizona and Sweet Leaf teas, said his drink
is safe.
“This is a healthy alternative to alcohol after a long
day of work,” he said. “It is designed to be a hip, new
alternative for young adults to find a way to relax.”
Bianchi also said Drank’s marketing is not intended to
glorify codeine abuse. Rather, he said, “drank” is
common slang for a party beverage. To “lean,” he added,
is simply to kick back and take a relaxed approach to
life.
“We are not trying to sedate anyone,” Bianchi said.
“The word ‘drank’ was to catch people’s attention,” he
added. “You have to put on bling-bling to get noticed.”
Local producer DJ Screw, credited with developing a
slowed-down rap style called “chopped and screwed,”
extolled the use of the recreational drug in his songs
before his death in 2000 of a codeine overdose. Houston
rapper Big Moe, who also sipped syrup and whose biggest
hit was Purple Stuff, died of a heart attack in 2007.
And Port Arthur rapper Pimp C died a short while later
from an accidental overdose of cough syrup and a
pre-existing sleep apnea condition, according to medical
reports.
‘Like a mockery for us’
Reactions among local rappers to the new canned drinks
were mixed.
“Come on, man,” said Marcus Lakee Edwards, who performs
as Lil’ Keke and is a member of the Screwed Up Click.
“These drinks are adding more fuel to the fire,
especially after the Big Moe, Pimp C thing happened.
This is like a mockery for us.”
Derrick Bixon, who signed the late Big Moe to his
Wreckshop Records label, was puzzled at the concept of
an anti-energy drink.
“Who needs to not have enough energy?” Bixon asked with
a dry laugh. “In black America, we need more energy. No
one needs to be slow and smooth at the rate we’re going.
We need to speed up.”
However, rapper Stayve Jerome Thomas, whose stage name
is Slim Thug, said he likes the idea of a non-narcotic
substitute for syrup.
“I would rather the kids drink that stuff in the store
that doesn’t have the drugs in it than drink the actual
syrup,” said Slim Thug, who said he sips syrup
occasionally. He said young people who want to try it
will do so whether Drank is on the market or not.
Williams, the pastor, said he hopes Drank will spark a
conversation about the types of products promoted in
inner-city neighborhoods.
“I don’t believe in censorship,” he said. “They have a
right to compete in the open market. But no company
should be able to operate in our community’s stores
uncriticized and unchallenged.” |
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