If it looks like an energy drink and tastes like an energy drink, kids just might buy it. That’s the concern behind a new malt beverage from Miller called Sparks.

Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, joined by 15 other attorneys general, Thursday urged the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to investigate allegations that Sparks and Sparks Plus alcoholic energy drinks contain unsafe levels of caffeine. The company could not be reached for comment.

The letter also requests TTB to determine if the alcohol content in Sparks 6 percent alcoholic energy drink is higher than the amounts disclosed on the label.

“Mixing dangerously high amounts of caffeine with alcohol can be deadly,” Gansler said. “Caffeine is a stimulant that can mask feelings of intoxication, giving drinkers the false impression that they can drink more and function normally. That is a recipe for disaster.”

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The letter said the drinks might violate federal laws limiting the amount of caffeine that can be packaged in an alcoholic beverage, and that Sparks may be packing more intoxicating punch than the label lets on.

A Miami television station reported earlier this month that independent laboratory tests found up to 215 mg of caffeine in each 16-ounce can of Sparks and Sparks Plus. They also found that Sparks 6.0 contained 6.97 percent alcohol by volume.

If Sparks 6.0 contains more than 6 percent alcohol by volume, the mislabeling of the product is prohibited by federal law, Gansler’s letter stated. The amounts of caffeine found in Sparks and Sparks Plus are more than two times the allowable limit of 200 parts per million.

The combination of caffeine and liquor, along with the Sparks Web site and Facebook and MySpace pages, is clearly designed to reach a younger drinker, said Michael Gimbel, drug abuse educator with Sheppard Pratt Health System.

khille@baltimoreexaminer.com