Everclear banned in NC

Everclear and Diesel 190-proof alcohol will today follow the trail of Four Loko — off the shelves statewide.

The Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board started the trend a month ago, removing large containers of the products from its stores. And the N.C. ABC Commission followed suit, de-listing all pure-grain, 190-proof alcohol from stores across the state.

Mecklenburg changed its policy after realizing college students were the primary consumers of pure-grain alcohol in its 24 stores.

Five of the stores comprised 50 percent of the county’s sales of half-gallon containers.

The three stores closest to college campuses sold 38 percent.

Students are the biggest buyers of high-alcohol content liquor at UNC’s nearest ABC store as well, said George Walsh, manager of the ABC store in Meadowmont.

“For the group party situation it tends to be a bit more popular,” Walsh said. “It goes a lot further.”

ABC stores will sell their remaining stock, after which the product will not be available in retail stores. Companies using it as an industrial solvent or cleaner will have to special order pure-grain alcohol, said Paul Stroup, chief executive officer of Mecklenburg’s ABC board.

Other states, including Virginia and New York, have already outlawed pure-grain alcohol.

The commission worked with suppliers to replace the 190-proof Everclear with a 151-proof product. Diesel 190-proof will not be replaced at all.

“I still think 150-proof is awfully strong,” Stroup said. “I don’t think this is going to curb people drinking as heavily.”

But the state commission cited binge drinking and related health concerns as reasons for discontinuing the product.

“The ABC Commission has long been concerned that young adults drinking nearly pure alcohol are especially vulnerable to alcohol poisoning,” Jon Williams, chairman of the N.C. ABC Commission, said in a statement.

But some students say discontinuing the product will not solve the problem.

“If that’s what they’re trying to achieve, the policy is pretty insignificant,” said Will Pryor, a junior English major at UNC.

Senior economics major Alex Kane agreed.

“It’s not about what they’re drinking,” he said.

“If someone wants to drink that much, you can’t really stop them.”

The policy alone will not change behavior, but it is better than nothing, said Leslie Morrow, associate director of the UNC Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

“I think it’s just an easy way to double the punch as an alcohol drink,” Morrow said of pure-grain alcohol. “And we know from research that the higher the cost of alcohol, the less people drink.”

Morrow added, “There are these subtle factors that contribute to binge drinking, so this is a step in the right direction.”

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.