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We covered the story about powdered alcohol when it was first announced, but it ran into problems. It was re-announced in mid March. Rachel Abrams reports at the NYT that six states have passed legislation to ban Palcohol, a freeze-dried, powdered alcohol developed by Mark Phillips who he says was inspired by a love of hiking but a distaste for carrying bottles of adult beverages uphill. "When I hike, kayak, backpack or whatever, I like to have a drink when I reach my destination. And carrying liquid alcohol and mixers to make a margarita for instance was totally impractical," says Phillips, who hopes to have Palcohol on store shelves by the summer. One packet of Palcohol equals one shot with each packet weighing 1 ounce and turning into liquid when mixed with 6 ounces of water. Phillips has vigorously defended his product, called Palcohol, saying it is no more dangerous than the liquid version sold in liquor stores and plans to release five flavors: vodka, rum, cosmopolitan, powderita (which is like a margarita) and lemon drop.
Critics are concerned people may try to snort the powder or mix it with alcohol to make it even stronger or spike a drink. "It's very easy to put a couple packets into a glass and have super-concentrated alcohol," says Frank Lovecchio. Amy George, a spokeswoman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said MADD did not typically take a stand on the dangers of specific alcohol products, but MADD is concerned about the colorful or playful packaging of such products that can sometimes appeal to children. Phillips dismisses concerns saying that they don't make sense if you think it through. "People unfortunately use alcohol irresponsibly. But I don't see any movement to ban liquid alcohol. You don't ban something because a few irresponsible people use it improperly," says Phillips. "They can snort black pepper. Do you ban black pepper?"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by TLA on Sunday April 05 2015, @12:33PM
that's the same FDA that, at the behest of Rumsfeld, approved aspartame for human consumption without peer-reviewed human interaction studies having been carried out and in the face of actual evidence of the harmful effects of the chemical, right?
That's ok then, I thought it would be an organisation that we couldn't trust to act in all our interests rather than worshipping the Mighty Greenback... oh, how wrong was I?
Excuse me, I think I need to reboot my horse. - NCommander
(Score: 2) by nightsky30 on Sunday April 05 2015, @11:29PM
Exactly, they already screwed up. I avoid anything with artificial sweeteners. When it breaks down into formaldehyde and formic acid, no thanks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 06 2015, @07:52AM
The government was bought the instant that enough money was concentrated into the hands of individuals to do just that. Thanks capitalism!