August 2006 Weddings
Utah has some of the strictest liquor laws in the country, a byproduct of its large Mormon population. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints counsels members not to drink alcohol, and the church is highly influential among state lawmakers on alcohol policy.
On Wednesday, Utah will be the only state to ban the sale of fruity alcoholic drinks at grocery stores and convenience stores in an effort to keep them from minors. Those drinks also must have new state-approved labels on the front of the product that contain capitalized letters in bold type telling consumers the drinks contain alcohol and at what percentage.
So far, no new labels have been approved. Utah Department of Alcholic Beverage Control spokeswoman Sharon Mackay said the state's limited supply of those drinks will likely be gone in a few weeks.
Flavored malt beverages are already sold in state liquor stores, but they have a higher alcohol content than what has been allowed in grocery stores. They also have the same labels found in the rest of the country.
Some manufacturers have already decided it's not worth it to produce new labels just for Utah.
"Thanks to the Legislature, Smirnoff Ice is no longer available in Utah," said Zsoka McDonald, spokeswoman for Diageo, one of the world's largest multinational beer, wine and spirits firms. "It's just not cost effective."
Mackay said the department won't reorder any of the flavored malt beverages it has in stock until manufacturers comply with new labeling requirements.
"Many manufacturers, frankly, have not decided whether it's worth carrying the product to make changes on the labels," Mackay said. "It's anybody's guess which ones will be carried."
Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman said banning products like Zima, Smirnoff Ice and Seagram's Fuzzy Navel from grocery stores would harm Utah's image, but agreed to it in exchange for increasing the amount of liquor allowed in shots and standard cocktails to 1.5 ounces, up from 1 ounce.
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That's it. I will never live in Utah.
And here I thought that being asked for ID when purchasing a beverage was a crystal-clear indicator that the drink you are purchasing contains alcohol.?
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Utah first in nation to pull "alco-pops" from stores, gas stations
SALT LAKE CITY - Utah's supply of flavored malt beverages will likely be exhausted in a few weeks as manufacturers decide whether to comply with labeling rules intended to make it clear the products contain alcohol.Utah has some of the strictest liquor laws in the country, a byproduct of its large Mormon population. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints counsels members not to drink alcohol, and the church is highly influential among state lawmakers on alcohol policy.
On Wednesday, Utah will be the only state to ban the sale of fruity alcoholic drinks at grocery stores and convenience stores in an effort to keep them from minors. Those drinks also must have new state-approved labels on the front of the product that contain capitalized letters in bold type telling consumers the drinks contain alcohol and at what percentage.
So far, no new labels have been approved. Utah Department of Alcholic Beverage Control spokeswoman Sharon Mackay said the state's limited supply of those drinks will likely be gone in a few weeks.
Flavored malt beverages are already sold in state liquor stores, but they have a higher alcohol content than what has been allowed in grocery stores. They also have the same labels found in the rest of the country.
Some manufacturers have already decided it's not worth it to produce new labels just for Utah.
"Thanks to the Legislature, Smirnoff Ice is no longer available in Utah," said Zsoka McDonald, spokeswoman for Diageo, one of the world's largest multinational beer, wine and spirits firms. "It's just not cost effective."
Mackay said the department won't reorder any of the flavored malt beverages it has in stock until manufacturers comply with new labeling requirements.
"Many manufacturers, frankly, have not decided whether it's worth carrying the product to make changes on the labels," Mackay said. "It's anybody's guess which ones will be carried."
Republican Gov. Jon Huntsman said banning products like Zima, Smirnoff Ice and Seagram's Fuzzy Navel from grocery stores would harm Utah's image, but agreed to it in exchange for increasing the amount of liquor allowed in shots and standard cocktails to 1.5 ounces, up from 1 ounce.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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http://www.abc4.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=4ba9f0e6-de6c-49d7-b0ce-3b7fb9d8b520?
Re: That's it. I will never live in Utah.
"Thanks to the Legislature, Smirnoff Ice is no longer available in Utah," said Zsoka McDonald, spokeswoman for Diageo, one of the world's largest multinational beer, wine and spirits firms. "It's just not cost effective."
thats it. No Utah for me either. As a girl who can't hold her alcohol, these drinks where the only way I was able to socially drink w/o falling over 5 minutes later.
The logic seems faulty to me. ?A teen girl cannot legally buy a drink. ?By removing them from grocery stores, the only purpose Utah is serving is to ?make such beverages less?accessible?to people who can legally buy them.
Additionally, I have never heard of someone who didn't know that there is alcohol in a Mike's or a Smirnoff Ice or the like. ?The second part of the law seems completely pointless.?
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Have you tried wine??
Those drinks also must have new state-approved labels on the front of the product that contain capitalized letters in bold type telling consumers the drinks contain alcohol and at what percentage.
why? is it part of the mormon religion to not read words spelled in lower case?
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GTown- that is unamerican! ?To answer your question, Utah is just banning it in grocery stores and gas stations, but requiring special labeling if it is to be sold in a liquor store. ?The special labeling could mean some manufacturers (Smirnoff, for instance), don't even bother because it is cost-prohibitive as not a lot of people in Utah drink to begin with.
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That will always be a problem. ?Taking beer away from people who are legally allowed to purchase it is not an acceptable solution to the problem.?
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That's true. ?It's really sad that my tolerance during my senior year in high school was twice what it is now. ?I remember thinking that liquor tasted a lot better, but I never knew how great a good glass of wine can be.?
Hmm. I never drank underage and I loooove my smirnoff twisters. I drink those and white wine (which seriously gives me a buzz so fast, Katie), and that's about it. Amaretto Sour if I'm at a bar. Vodka cranberry if I'm at a bar that doesn't have Amaretto. That's the extent of what I drink.
I tend to think new laws made for the specific intent to enforce existing laws rather silly. This is an example.
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That is my way of thinking.
I have to say though, now that I'm a grown up, all I drink is wine or vodka and cranberry juice if I am at a bar with a sketchy/no wine list.?
I am loling at the thought of drunk HS kids passing around a bottle of wine.
This is so lame, and it's a band-aid for a bigger problem.
The hubz loves alco-pops (or whatever they call them). It's hilarious.