09.01.08
Eleven state attorneys general convinced Anheuser-Busch to stop selling its caffeinated energy drinks, including Tilt and Bud Extra. The regulators alleged that A-B failed to adequately disclose negative effects of the drink on the cans’ labels and that ads for the products were aimed at consumers under 21 years of age. The AGs are also investigating Miller for its Sparks drinks. In a legal agreement, A-B promised to remove stimulants, including guarana—an Amazonian plant from which an herbal compound is derived—from Tilt and Bud Extra. Guarana and other natural ingredients, such as ginseng, provide a user with a short-term mental and physical boost. Critics contend that Tilt, Bud Extra and Sparks look and taste like nonalcoholic energy drinks and put drinkers, particularly young people, at risk of being injured in car accidents or other mishaps.
—Brandweek, 6/30/08
—Brandweek, 6/30/08