Powdered alcohol has received approval for sale in the U.S. by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Palcohol's sale was recinded last year when the Bureau had a problem with some of the labeling. The product will now face some states which are looking to ban it. CBS News reports:
Palcohol first made news last spring when it briefly received the greenlight from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, before the bureau backtracked and said the label approvals had been given in error.
On Wednesday, bureau spokesman Tom Hogue told The Associated Press the issues were resolved and that four varieties of Palcohol were approved. But Hogue noted that states can also regulate alcohol sales in their borders.
The latest approval is a step forward for a small company whose product plans have already sparked controversy.
Several states have already moved to ban powdered alcohol, including lawmakers in Colorado who last month advanced legislation to temporarily halt its sale. Concerns have included abuse by minors and whether Palcohol's light weight would make it easy to sneak alcohol into public events.
On its website, Palcohol explains that it hopes to distribute the product soon. "It will take a while but hopefully it will be available this summer," wrote Palcohol's inventor, Mark Phillips. The powder, available in a range of flavors, is around 50 percent alcohol by weight and between 12 and 60 percent alcohol by volume. According to its manufacturers, about a half cup of the stuff is equivalent to one drink.
Such aspirations to sell wont necessarily mean you can freely buy powdered alcohol, though. States, after all, can regulate the sale of alcohol within their own borders—and many are concerned over the effects powdered alcohol may have on their populations. Indeed, several are already planning to ban products like Palcohol, and Colorado has already advanced legislation to prevent its sale.
Such actions stem from concerns about what people might do with powdered alcohol: snort it, smuggle it, spike drinks with it, other awful things. But, as beverage lawyers noted last year, those worries are probably a little overblown. "After the initial shock value, perhaps this will be as rare as vodka tampons, eyeballing and vodka injections," wrote Robert Lehman. Most sane people, we noted last year, would likely continue to consume alcohol in its enjoyable forms.
