Just under a year after sugary alcoholic beverages played a role in the death of a Laval teenager, Educ-alcool is calling on the Canadian government to do more to regulate the drinks.
In December, Health Canada proposed restrictions on the high-alcohol, single-serve beverages, including reducing the amount of alcohol from the equivalent of four servings of alcohol per can to one-and-a-half.
Educ’Alcool called the proposal disappointing, saying more needs to be done about the packaging and labelling of the products.
The organization also said the reduction in alcohol isn’t based on any known recommendations or low-risk drinking guidelines.
Director Hubert Sacy said the drinks should be limit single-serving drinks to a single standard glass of alcohol to avoid misleading consumers and that packaging should be closely regulated to ensure companies aren’t targeting teens.
Athena Gervais was found dead behind her Laval school in March, 2018. She was found to have been drinking FCKD UP, a sweetened drink that contained 11.9 per cent alcohol, or the equivalent of four standard drinks.
The company that owned FCKD UP ceased its production following her death.
