Cocktail conundrumCocktail conundrum

Bye-bye, ubiquitous Vodka Red Bull?

Moshe Matalon cites health reasons in move to outlaw popular drink

Aaron Kalman is a former writer and breaking news editor for the Times of Israel

Young Israelis drinking alcohol mixed with energy drinks. (photo credit: Kobi Gideon/Flash90)
Young Israelis drinking alcohol mixed with energy drinks. (photo credit: Kobi Gideon/Flash90)

If legislators have their way, Israeli revelers will have to say goodbye to one of their favorite cocktails. A new bill submitted by Moshe Matalon (Yisrael Beytenu) seeks to prohibit the mixing of energy drinks and alcohol based on health considerations, the Hebrew news site NRG reported on Wednesday.

Vodka Red Bull and similar drinks became popular in Israel over the past decade and are sold in bars, consumed heavily at weddings and other festivities, and drunk in parking lots after being purchased in kiosks.

Matalon submitted the bill in light of the popularity of the drink among young people, noting that medical research showed that combining energy drinks with alcohol could be dangerous since the ingredients have opposite effects. While alcohol calms down the nervous system, energy drinks — such as Red Bull or XL — stimulate it.

Anyone selling such a mixture would be subject to a large fine or a sentence of up to three months in prison.

MKs from the Likud, Kadima, Yisrael Beytenu and National Union added their signatures to Matalon’s bill.

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