It was recently announced that “Hard Mtn Dew” is coming to stores in 2022. It will be a flavored malt beverage with 5% alcohol by volume. Despite claims by PepsiCo and Boston Beer Company that the drink will be “marketed to adults of legal age,” use of the “multi-billion dollar” soda brand name Mountain Dew to sell alcoholic beverages will prey on our country’s underage drinking problem.

Mountain Dew has consistently made up 6-7% of U.S. soft drink sales. A large portion of Mountain Dew consumers are young and male. The brand has marketed to the gaming culture (90% of teens age 13-17 play video games), as well as partnered with professional athletes and fast food chains.

When he was young, I would often take my son to Taco Bell after our local baseball team scored 7 runs. The drink of choice was Mountain Dew Baja Blast. When that flavor eventually made it to store shelves I scoured local retailers to buy it for us. Now I feel betrayed because those memories make it easier for PepsiCo and Boston Beer Company to entice my underage son to try Hard Mtn Dew because he already loves Mountain Dew.

Almost 1 in 3 high school students drank alcohol in the past 30 days according to the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Underage drinking can cause social, physical, psychological and legal problems for our children and early initiation of alcohol use is associated with alcohol addiction later in life.

Soda brands and alcohol brands don’t mix! Tell PepsiCo and Boston Beer Company - Don’t Sell Alcoholic Mountain Dew!