Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Warning on Wine Cooler Look-Alike

Surgeon General Antonia Coello Novello said consumers are being endangered by a high-alcohol drink that looks like a mild wine cooler but is as potent as five shots of vodka. Novello, speaking at a news conference at the Children’s National Medical Center, said the fortified wine Cisco, which is 20% alcohol, is particularly dangerous to unsuspecting teen-agers who might believe they are drinking a wine cooler that typically would have a 4% alcohol content. Cisco, which is carbonated and comes in five flavors, is often stocked in convenience stores near ordinary wine coolers. The drink has resulted in hallucinations, disorientation, loss of motor control and loss of consciousness, she said.