More U.S. states consider Palcohol ban
Powdered alcohol — or “Palcohol” — was facing bans in several U.S. states Friday after fears the new product could encourage teenage drinking, or even the snorting or injecting of the product, which was approved for sale in the U.S. this week.
The product — a white powder — has received government approval and will be available by summer, according to the manufacturer’s website.
Several politicians and children’s groups have raised concerns about the product, which has garnered huge media attention, with Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator from New York, calling it the “Kool-Aid for underage drinking.”
Schumer said he was in disbelief that the U.S. government approved the product, which he argued posed an “immense danger” to minors because of how easily it can be concealed, snorted or mixed with food and drink.
Mark Phillips, the wine-taster and entrepreneur who founded Lipsmark, which makes Palcohol, has said he invented the product as a way for hikers to enjoy alcoholic drinks without having to lug heavy bottles of liquor up mountains.
The government approval included powdered versions of a cosmopolitan cocktail, a margarita, vodka and rum, although federal regulators noted that U.S. states had the power to regulate alcohol sales inside their borders.
In a promotional video, Phillips admitted some of the early marketing had been “questionable” and warned that snorting the product was both “very painful” and pointless.
“Why would someone spend an hour of pain and misery snorting all of this powder to get one shot into their system?” he said, before demonstrating how to mix the drinks, and taking sip. “Ah! It’s wonderful.”
So far, Alaska has already banned the powder, and at least seven other states are reported to have taken, or be considering taking, regulatory action against it, including Louisiana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and Massachusetts
Palcohol was initially approved in April 2014, but the approval was withdrawn after concerns that the products were not properly labelled.
A spokesman for the regulator said that, whatever the fears over Palcohol, “potential for abuse” could not be grounds to deny a label.