Caffeine, cigarettes, and beer

During my college days, a 'one-eyed' cheeseburger was my 3-in-the-morning antidote for too much partying. That's an egg on a burger, if you didn't know.

These days, an alternate method might be caffeinated alcohol and energy drinks.

Attorneys general from several states have issued demands for documents from Anheuser-Busch Cos. and Miller Brewing Co. as part of investigations into their marketing of caffeinated alcoholic drinks, the companies said. <...>

Drinks that combine alcohol with caffeine have become increasingly popular with young drinkers, including those under the legal drinking age. State attorneys general claim that beverage makers are irresponsibly taking advantage of this popularity by selling the drinks with misleading claims that they help users stay up late for partying. <...>

However,

"It is important to realize 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" requiring state approvals, Francine Katz, Anheuser's vice president for communications and consumer affairs, said in a statement. "Caffeinated alcohol beverages are nothing new," she added, noting that adults long have combined drinks such as rum and Coca-Cola.

And,

In August, attorneys general from roughly 30 states sent a letter to the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, asking officials to examine what they claimed to be misleading marketing of the drinks. The Tax and Trade Bureau took no action after the request by the attorneys general and told them it had reviewed and approved the labeling of the drinks.

More from the Wall Street Journal, 21 February 2008: Anheuser, Miller Face Marketing Probes

Yesterday evening, outside a 'non-smoking' beer pub in Charlottesville, Virginia, I chatted briefly in the bitter cold with a a gentleman who was puffing on his cigarette. I asked him what his opinion was on potential government-mandated smoking bans, especially there in tobacco-friendly Virginia. He replied, "I hope it happens here. It might help me kick the habit."

I hadn't heard that argument before.