Powdered alcohol brand Palcohol has received approval from the US government’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which will allow it to sell its range of products nationwide.
The company produces a variety of powdered alcohol products, including Puerto Rican rum, four-times distilled vodka, cosmopolitan and margarita. Consumers can make spirit shots by adding a small amount of water, or mixed drinks through the addition of 6oz of soda or juice.
It was developed as a means by which adventurers could take alcohol into the wild, without needing to carry bottles and cans. Its Arizona-based owner hopes to begin distributing the product by the end of this summer.
But it has taken a long time for Palcohol to secure the approval, amid concerns around health implications and the impact they will have on younger consumers. Lawmakers in Colorado and Rhode Island have responded by proposing bills to regulate their sale, and powdered alcohol products are already illegal in three US states.
Brandon Kormer, chief of neuropsychology at Miami Children’s Hospital, told digital magazine Live Science: “Alcohol by itself definitely has its own share of traps and hazards. I don’t see this [powdered alcohol] yet as any more or less dangerous than liquid alcohol.”
Palcohol has also defended the integrity of its products, arguing that restricting them has the potential to do more harm than good. Regulation will lead to black market demand and wasted government resources, and could make it easier for underage consumers to gain access to the drink, the company claimed.
They have refuted suggestions that people will inhale the powdered alcohol to get drunk, or that it would become easier to smuggle alcohol into venues, contaminate another person’s drink or supply the product to underage consumers.
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