Tennessee may ban the new powder alcohol

Apr 07, 2015 at 03:30 am by bryan


Powdered alcohol, marketed under the name Palchhol, was recently approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for sale in the United States. It is a powder that is packaged in a 4-by-6-inch pouch, to which water can be added to produce an instant alcoholic beverage.

A bill currently making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly would ban sale of the product in the state. Nearby Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves says he hopes the ban will take place in Tennessee.

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While proponents of its sale point out that this new product will be useful for purposes including camping, airline travel or any other activity where weight is a significant issue, Tennessee Poison Center officials have expressed concern that the availability of powered alcohol may lead to more instances of alcohol poisoning, especially among children and adolescents.

"We are concerned that as more flavors and more sophisticated marketing make this product more enticing and available, more children will ingest it," said Donna Seger, M.D., professor of Clinical Medicine and medical director of the Tennessee Poison Center, located at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

"It's also a concern that the availability of powdered alcohol will make it easier for adolescents to obtain and ingest alcohol, either by itself or with other drugs," she said.

She added, from a poison control point of view, acute alcohol presents as a central nervous system depressant, which can range from drunkenness to, most severely, coma and death.

Seger said, "Parents and other adults should treat powdered alcohol just as they would any potentially harmful substance--it should be stored away from children."

Source:

Partner Station WMSR

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