Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins

Experts Warn About Powdered Alcohol


China

Recommended Posts

Experts Warn About Powdered Alcohol

Just as youth advocates hail the fact that sales of "alcopops," sweet drinks containing alcohol, are declining among kids, another product is raising concerns -- alcopops in powder form, which are growing in popularity.

They look harmless enough, the inconspicuous packets often next to the cashier at gas stations, convenience stores, beverage stores and bars. But according to consumer protection officials, that's what makes them all the more dangerous, since the powder inside contains alcohol, and a lot of it -- about 4.8 percent by volume. That is the equivalent of one to one-and-a-half glasses of liquor.

The product is called subyou, manufactured by a company in North Rhine-Westphalia, and is marketed squarely at teenagers with slogans like "taste for not much dough" and "gets a good buzz going." Add the powder to cold water, and consumers have an alcoholic drink containing either vodka or rum.

0,1587,1596658_6,00.jpg

"These are just as dangerous as the alcopops that came in the bottles," Birgit Rehlender, nutrition expert at consumer affairs organization Stiftung Warentest told Der Spiegel weekly.

Tax exempt

While authorities were able to curtail the consumption of alcopops with a special tax on the drinks last August -- which put them out of the reach of many teenage budgets -- these new alcopops in powder form cost between 1.65 and 2.40 euros ($2.06 and $3.00) per package. Subyou is able to get around the tax because its product comes in powder form.

The powder was first sold over the Internet, and word spread quickly among teenage circles that those under 18 could order off the Internet without fear of being asked for proof of age. However, according to Andrea Schauff, a nutritional expert at Hesse's consumer protection organization, in many stores the powder is being sold to under-age kids even though a warning is printed on the packets: "Alcohol can be addictive -- no sales to minors."

Besides the high alcohol content, youth advocates also worry about the powder's other ingredients, including high levels of preservatives, sorbic acid, and dyes that have not been approved by health experts.

Consumer protection authorities, such as Waltraud Fesser from Rhineland-Palatinate, would like to see the special tax on liquid alcopops be applied to their cousins in powder form.

"As soon as alcohol enters into the picture, we have to protect our young people," she said.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Follow-up:

Just add water - students invent alcohol powder

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch students have developed powdered alcohol which they say can be sold legally to minors.

The latest innovation in inebriation, called Booz2Go, is available in 20-gramme packets that cost 1-1.5 euros ($1.35-$2).

Top it up with water and you have a bubbly, lime-colored and -flavored drink with just 3 percent alcohol content.

"We are aiming for the youth market. They are really more into it because you can compare it with Bacardi-mixed drinks," 20-year-old Harm van Elderen told Reuters.

Van Elderen and four classmates at Helicon Vocational Institute, about an hour's drive from Amsterdam, came up with the idea as part of their final-year project.

"Because the alcohol is not in liquid form, we can sell it to people below 16," said project member Martyn van Nierop.

The legal age for drinking alcohol and smoking is 16 in the Netherlands.

In Germany, alcopops -- sweet drinks containing alcohol and in powder form -- caused quite a stir when launched on to the market. Alcohol powder, classified as a flavoring, was sold in the United States three years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steve-O from Jackass did that. Went bar-hopping with an IV bag of vodka. Not sure if that was on the TV show, the movie, or one of his DVD's.

I haven't seen that one. I saw from the movie where they poured liquor into his anus. Now that's talent for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...