Quebec tightening control on sales of high-alcohol mixed drinks

Quebec is moving to ban the sale of pre-mixed malt-based beverages containing more than seven per cent alcohol from anywhere other than the provincial liquor stores.

The decision comes two weeks after Athena Gervais, 14, died after she reportedly consumed an 11.9 per cent alcohol malt-liqour drink called FCKD UP on her schoollunch break.

While police are still awaiting a toxicology report, the teen's death has brought such drinksunder renewed scrutiny. The company that produces FCKD UP has sincehalted production, but other similar beverages are still on the market.

300% growth in sales

On Tuesday, the government announced it intends to bar dpanneurs and grocery stores from selling pre-mixed beer drinkswith high alcohol content.Craftbeers and conventional beer beverages that have a high alcohol content would be exempt from the prohibition.

The law already limits the sale of high-alcohol ciderto theSocitdesalcoolsduQubec(SAQ)outlets.

Public Security MinisterMartinCoiteux said the appeal and marketing of the beverages to young people is worrisome.

"They're particularly dangerous because they combine extremely high levels of alcohol with extremely high levels of sugar," he said.

"Apparently those who consume those products don't even notice that they're consuming alcohol, so they consume too much, too rapidly, and they reach a point of intoxication which is a real, real threat to their health."

A report by Quebec'sInstitut national de sant publiqueshowed that sales of the beveragesgrew by more than 300 per cent in 2016-2017 and accounted for more than fourper cent of the alcoholic beverages sold at dpanneursand grocery stores, the report said.

Coiteuxsaid the new restrictionis tobe added to a bill already tabled in February which amends the province's liquor and gaming legislation.

• Government ignored pleas to act on potent pre-mixed drinks like FCKD UP, say public health experts

Bill 170 will "modernize" the province's liquorpermitregulationsand give the Rgie des alcools des courses et des jeux more power to ensure the law is being followed, Coiteuxsaid.

"I think the public in general is waiting for legislators to do something about this, and with good reason. So, we will do it," he said.

Not so fast, says the SAQ

Currently, dpanneurs and grocery stores are permitted to sell malt-based beverages and some wines, while the sale of all other alcohol is limited to the SAQ.

In astatement, SAQspokesperson Mathieu Gaudreault said while the SAQ welcomes the ban on selling the potent, sugar-filled drinks in dpanneurs and grocery stores, it has not yet agreed to sellthem in its outlets.

Gaudreaultsaid the board will wait until the amendments to the bill are passed before making a decision.

The safety surrounding the combination of ingredients in the high-sugar, high-alcohol beverages has also been called into question in the wake of the teen's death.

In Canada, it's illegal to mix alcohol and caffeine in a premixed beverage. However, there's no prohibition on substances that contain caffeine, such as guarana, a prominently advertised ingredientinFCKD UP.

• Caffeinated, high-alcohol drinks: A closer look at theFCKDUP controversy

The Quebec government is alsoamong a growing group of lawmakers and health professionals urging Health Canada, which has the final say which ingredients can be included in beverages, to regulate the drinks.