Four Loko played role in Drummondville man's death: coroner

Cans of Four Loko are seen on display at a liquor store in Palo Alto, Calif., Monday, Oct. 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

A combination of Four Loko and cold medicine proved fatal for a Drummondville man who died during the 2017 holiday season.

According to a coroner’s report released on Tuesday, Pierre Parent had consumed two cans of Four Loko – a beverage with a high alcohol content that also contains caffeine – before have dinner with his parents on Dec. 25, and then drank a 473 ml bottle Smirnoff beverage.

Four Loko is 11.9 per cent alcohol while the Smirnoff  is 4.8 per cent.

That evening, Parent complained of stomachaches. Before going to bed, he consumed two more cans of Four Loko and took two Tylenol Cold pills.

The next morning, Parent experienced tremors and was unconscious with his eyes open, according to the report. His girlfriend called 911 and began resuscitation maneuvers until paramedics arrived.

Parent died in hospital soon after.

Coroner Yvon Garneau said Parent’s relatives told investigators he was addicted to alcohol and his regular intake was at least two high-alcohol cans per day.

Garneau concluded that Parent died of cardiac arrhythmias secondary to the combined effect of ethyl alcohol, caffeine and chlorpheniramine, in the context of fatty liver and left ventricular dilation.

The coroner recommended the Quebec Health Ministry educate the public about the dangers of consuming ethyl alcohol in combination with stimulants such as caffeine and certain arrhythmogenic drugs.

In March, the body of 14-year-old Athena Gervais was found behind a Laval high school. Fellow students said Gervais had been drinking FCKD UP, a beverage similar to Four Loko, just before her death.