• April 12, 2007

Redux Beverages, which markets the Cocaine energy drink, has been ordered by the FDA to stop marketing the product, which it called a drug - not because it contains cocaine, which it doesn't but because it contains an ingredient called inositol and claims to reduce cholesterol and prevent hardening of the arteries.

The Las Vegas-based company has two weeks to notify the FDA of its plans to correct the violations.

The drink has more caffeine than a Starbucks Grande coffee and 350% more than Red Bull.

Redux markets Cocaine as "The Legal Alternative" on its Web site, where its descriptions include "Speed in a Can," "Liquid Cocaine" and "Cocaine-Instant Rush." About 500 energy drinks were launched worldwide last year, when the segment's sales stood at $8 billion.

The company also is battling to trademark "cocaine" at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

When 7-Eleven stores pulled the product from its shelves last year, Hannah Kirby, the company's managing partner, said: "We knew it would be controversial. That was the marketing plan, because young adults and teens love controversy."