New bar craze: alcohol via vapor (Nebulized Alchohol)

[x635 4,066]

I dont understand this.......I see a whole bunch of EMS calls (and possibly fire) coming off of this new "craze".

New bar craze: alcohol via vapor

By FRANZISKA CASTILLO 

THE JOURNAL NEWS 

(Original publication: August 19, 2004)

A new machine allowing barhoppers to inhale liquor instead of drinking it is set to debut in New York City tomorrow night — but in Westchester, it faces staunch opposition from County Executive Andrew Spano, who worries it could lure underage drinkers. 

Spano said yesterday that he is seeking either a local or statewide ban on the Alcohol Without Liquid — or AWOL — machine, a British device that mixes vaporized liquor with oxygen to deliver a fine alcoholic mist. To inhale one shot, a customer must breathe the vapors for about 20 minutes, according to an AWOL marketing Web site. 

"This is really attractive to youngsters," said Spano, who called the machine a potential setback to county efforts to curb teen drinking and drunken driving. "It's portable, and it will wind up at parties with kids. ... We don't want it in Westchester, and, in fact, we don't want it in the state." 

AWOL, already available in Europe and Asia, will make its first regional appearance tomorrow night at Trust Lounge in Manhattan, where its American distributor, Spirit Partners, is touting it as a low-carb, low-calorie and hangover-free alternative to regular imbibing. According to the company's promotional materials, the device delivers a "euphoric 'high' " and wards off hangovers by making oxygen part of each shot. 

"It's just a fun new way for adults to experience alcohol," said Kevin Morse, who is part-owner of the North Carolina-based distributor. At a cost of $3,000 to $3,600, the device — replete with disposable mouthpieces — is being sold to bars and individuals "who like expensive toys," Morse said, provided they are older than 21. 

"We don't want to sell to minors," he said. 

Spirit Partners suggests AWOL be used no more than once an hour and only twice in a 24-hour period to avoid overconsumption. Morse denied AWOL is any more dangerous than regular alcohol consumption. 

"A lot of people haven't seen the machine yet and are acting off of a lot of rumors," Morse said. 

The machine is not at the moment being installed in any Westchester bars, though Morse said he hoped it would be soon. But Spano said he is worried that if AWOL reaches the area, a bar serving both AWOL and traditional drinks might have trouble monitoring how much alcohol a patron is consuming. 

Without extensive scientific testing, it remains unclear just how much alcohol an AWOL user absorbs, critics across Europe have charged in the months since AWOL was introduced there early this year. 

Spirit Partners said that an AWOL shot produces a nearly immediate buzz by sending alcohol into the bloodstream more quickly than drinking. But the company also said the level of alcohol found in the body after AWOL use is lower than for traditional drinkers. The slow delivery helps prevent drunkenness, it said. 

The controversy has been enough to get AWOL banned in New South Wales, Australia (where officials also recently outlawed such bar exotica as an alcoholic aerosol spray and bottled alcoholic milk), and also has drawn fire from Suffolk County Legislator Jon Cooper, D-Lloyd Harbor, who has proposed banning the machine on eastern Long Island. 

Part of what critics oppose is AWOL marketers' use of phrases normally associated with health foods. 

Several testimonials on the AWOL USA Web site call the inhaled alcohol experience "light" and "clean." Brian Kaley, the executive director of Behavioral Health Services at St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, said he was concerned AWOL is trying to make alcohol consumption sound safer or more healthful than it really is. 

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Liquor Inhaler Debuts Alcohol-Free in NYC 

Sat Aug 21, 7:03 AM ET  Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo! 

 

By MADISON J. GRAY, Associated Press Writer 

NEW YORK - Fruit-infused water and Gatorade — not vodka and whiskey — were the inhalants offered at the Manhattan debut of a controversial new device that lets drinkers take vaporized shots of alcohol, and opponents want to make sure the machines stay liquor-free. 

   

The machine, the Alcohol Without Liquid vaporizer, or AWOL, lets its users inhale liquor by mixing it with pressurized oxygen. The machine's makers say it takes about 20 minutes to inhale one vaporized shot, leaving users euphoric, but not drunk, without the aftereffects of alcohol. 

"I would do this because I'm a non-drinker, but I'm looking for a buzz," said Peter Rosegarten, 37, who sat on a couch at the Manhattan nightspot Trust and breathed in the AWOL sans-liquor on Friday night. "I feel like the oxygen gives you a lightheaded feeling." 

Distributor Kevin Morse poured nonalcoholic fruit drinks into the inhalers on display at Friday's debut because he said state law doesn't allow liquor to be stored in anything but its original container. 

"I do think the public is ready for this," said Morse, president of Greensboro, N.C.-based Spirit Partners, adding that the machines were "just a new way to try" alcohol. 

Even if the public is ready, businesses may not be. Bar and lounge owners in New York don't know if they will display the machine yet because of legal issues, said Bob Zuckerman, executive director of the New York Nightlife Association. 

"We don't know if this device is legal and in addition we don't know if it is safe," Zuckerman said. "Our members and most bar owners are responsible and I'm sure they'll tread very carefully before putting a device such as this in their establishments." 

Existing state law is not the only obstacle the machine faces. Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano has said he wants the AWOL machine prohibited for fear it will attract underage drinkers, and State Sen. Carl Kruger has pledged to introduce legislation to ban it. 

Kruger sent a letter to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer saying the machine, which is manufactured in England, "is a disaster waiting to happen." Kruger called it a "new form of pipe smoking." 

"It becomes a whole enforcement issue," he said. "The way we test alcohol levels will be skewed and so will all the direction we've taken in this state to lower blood alcohol levels." 

Morse said using the inhaler would not skew blood alcohol tests and asserted that his company has no plans to sell the inhaler for home use. "We don't want anything to do with underage people," he said. "It's adults we are marketing to." 

Spitzer's office declined comment, saying the issue has been referred to the New York State Liquor Authority. A message left for the Liquor Authority was not immediately returned. 

[hudson144 150]

Just wondering,is this "LOW FAT"? alcohol

[WAS967 97]

Since when does alcohol have fat?

[Guest EMSwhitecloud]

how is this going to affect people with asthma? :-k