Some States move to ban powdered alcohol before it ever hits shelves
By Mary Beth Quirk From Consumerist
Remember Palcohol, the powdered alcohol that when, mixed with water, is supposed to be the equivalent of one drink or shot of booze? Palcohol can’t even see store shelves from where the product is standing at this point, after first being an approved product and then having that approval yanked by regulators. But if and when it finds its way to the public, some states are preparing to keep it from shelves before it ever gets the chance to hit them.
Colorado is the latest state to join those considering banning Palcohol out of concerns it could increase underage drinking, reports the Associated Press.
“I think being proactive and jumping out in front of the problem is probably the right thing to do,” said Chris Johnson, executive director of the County Sheriffs of Colorado. “It really doesn’t have any place in our society, powdered alcohol. We have enough problems with the liquid kind.”
He says he’s worried the powdered rum or vodka will be tempting for kids to “sprinkle it on top of their Wheaties for breakfast.”
A state representative is sponsoring a bill to ban powdered alcohol in Colorado during the legislative session that begins next month.
One thing is for sure, you won’t see it in Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, South Carolina and Vermont, as all those states have already banned powdered alcohol, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Minnesota, Ohio, and New York also are considering bans.
The company behind Palcohol says it won’t be available to buy until spring 2015 at the earliest, as there are still kinks to be worked out and labels to be approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
So is it going to be a reality? It sounds like it at this point, unless you live in a state that bans it: The Food and Drug Administration won’t be stepping up against it, as it says it doesn’t have the legal basis to block it after checking out the non-alcoholic ingredients in the powder.
The creators of the powder say it’s just meant to be convenient for things like long hikes, airplane rides or anywhere you need alcohol but don’t want to carry liquid. Palcohol’s director of communications says states should be working on controlling the product and how it’s sold instead of banning it outright.
“We believe it should be regulated and taxed,” she said in an email.
Related story:
Palcohol creator: “You won’t get drunk faster snorting powdered alcohol”
By Chris Morran From Consumerist
A couple weeks back, the Internet went a bit nuts when it learned that federal regulators had given the green light to a powdered alcohol product called Palcohol. Then a backlash ensued, fueled in no small part by things mentioned on the product’s nascent website, and regulators quickly rescinded their approval while some called for a ban on the product. But in a recently released video, Palcohol’s creator attempts to show that this is much to do about very little.
In the powder-dry above video, which looks like it was shot on Betamax on the set of a 1984 public access talk show, Palcohol creator Mark Phillips addresses the each of the major concerns about powdered alcohol — that it could be snorted for an easy high; that it would make it easier to sneak booze into a theater or other venue; that it would make it easy to spike another person’s drink; and that children would have easy access to it.
YOU CAN SNORT IT, BUT DON’T
The Palcohol website had initially mentioned that one could snort the powdered alcohol, but Phillips claims that this and other statements on the site were an ill-advised attempt at “edgy” marketing on a site that wasn’t ready to be seen by the public. In reality, he says Palcohol isn’t just painful to snort; it’s also impractical.
“Because of the alcohol in powdered alcohol, snorting it is very painful,” says Phillips. “It burns — a lot!”
But would it be worth the quicker high? No, says Phillips.
“Palcohol is not some super-concentrated version of alcohol,” he explains in the video. “It’s simply one shot of alcohol in powdered form.”
So according to Phillips, it would take about one hour for someone to snort one shot’s worth of powder (though he doesn’t explain how he calculated that time frame).
He asks, “Why would anyone choose to spend an hour of pain and misery snorting all of this powder to get one drink in their system? When they could just — oh, I don’t know — drink a shot and accomplish the same thing? You won’t get drunk faster by snorting powdered alcohol, an you’ll go through a lot of pain.”
WHAT’S IN THE BIG FOIL BAG SIR?
Regarding claims that you could more easily sneak Palcohol into a movie theater or concert or boring work meeting, Phillips points to the 4”x 6″size of the resealable foil pouch.
“Powdered alcohol won’t make it easier to sneak alcohol into places because the bag is too big to conceal,” he explains, arguing that it would be much easier to sneak in airplane-size bottles of booze than it would a pouch of Palcohol.
Between the two options, Phillips say, “You’re not gonna choose Palcohol; the package is too big! Heck, you could sneak… four bottles in the same space as one packet of Palcohol.”
LOOK OVER THERE! (FOR THE NEXT MINUTE OR TWO)
As for the contention that one could more easily spike another person’s drink with Palcohol, Phillips points out that you need an entire pouch of the powder to equal one shot’s worth of booze, and that it does not miraculously dissolve instantaneously.
“It will take at least a minute of stirring for all the powder to dissolve,” he explains while stirring in a mess of Palcohol powder into a glass of ice water. “And because this drink is cold, it may even take a little bit longer.”
Phillips once again makes the comparison between what he maintains is Palcohol’s bulky, hard-to-hide pouch and tiny little bottles of alcohol.
“Why would someone try to carry one of these in [holding up Palcohol pouch] and spike someone’s drink when it takes so long to stir when you can do the same thing in three seconds?” he asks.
WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS?
The final concern is one that Phillips can’t really rebut with any form of demonstration. Instead, he just tries to clarify that Palcohol will only be available for purchase in the same stores you currently buy booze, and that it can’t legally be sold or given to anyone under the age of 21 in the U.S.
For more on this story go to: http://consumerist.com/2014/05/09/palcohol-creator-you-wont-get-drunk-faster-snorting-powdered-alcohol/
