Vodka drink with Viagra hit
Alcopops which are claimed to improve libido and sexual performance will be targeted at young drinkers this summer.
The vodka-based drinks, which have been labelled 'Viagrapops', use herbal infusions which are said to have an aphrodisiac effect.
They are expected to sell up to 120million bottles in their first year alone. Passion fruit-flavoured Roxxoff will be the first of the new drinks on the market.
It features a fungus and herb used in Chinese medicine as well as a hefty 5.4 per cent alcohol content.
Its breathless advertising, which features a scantily-clad Dannii Minogue, claims its 'scientifically blended concoction of potent and proven aphrodisiacs' has the potential to produce ' randy super beings'.
Like its soon to be launched rivals, Roxxoff - produced by Surrey-based Lynch Wines - does not, of course, contain any of Pfizer's antiimpotence drug Viagra.
But alcohol concern groups are worried about the way it is being marketed towards youngsters.
The drink, expected to cost around £1.50 a bottle, is also likely to fall foul of the drinks industry's self-imposed guidelines on alcohol sales.
Governed by The Portman Group, a body set up with money from the big brewers, the rules state that drinks and packaging should be free from 'association with sexual success' or claims that they 'enhance mental or physical capabilities'.
Jack Law, of drinks industry pressure group Alcohol Focus, said he believed Roxxoff was clearly in breach of the Portman code.
'We wholeheartedly disapprove of Roxxoff, which unashamedly claims to enhance the libido,' he said.
'It sends out a completely irresponsible message to the young drinkers it is aimed at and will only increase the likelihood of binge drinking and unsafe sex.'
Alcohol Concern echoed these fears. 'We would like to see these banned,' said a spokesman. 'Lots of surveys have suggested teenagers regret having unprotected sex when drunk so this is worrying.'
Advertising for Roxxoff will tell how its use of the fungus cordyceps and the herb epimedium grandiflorum, also known as Horny Goat Weed, make the drink a 'herbal libido booster'.
It claims the drink's effects are 'sensational' and invites users to contact the company with tales of their sexual adventures while high on the brew.
Its black and red bottle is also designed to glow under the ultra- violet light commonly used in clubs and late-night bars.
The Portman Group, which has taken action against several products, is expected to be critical of Roxxoff.
In 1996, it ordered drinks firm Bass to scrap its cartoon logo for lemon- flavoured Hooch because it felt it appealed to children. Whitbread was also told to change the name of Lemon Jag because it had drug-taking connotations.
A spokesman for Lynch Wines said: 'Many young people go to clubs and bars to meet people with a view to having sex. We are just helping them on their way.
'We are acutely aware of our responsibilities. This doesn't look like a kid's drink and isn't designed to fool one into thinking it's lemonade.
'Alcopops are marketed towards the young - but when have alcoholic drinks ever been targeted at the old?'
