Parents' horror as new $35 device lets you INHALE alcohol goes on sale in U.S.

Volume 115: January 21, 2013

Parents' horror as new $35 device lets you INHALE alcohol goes on sale in U.S.

January 14, 2013

Parents have been warned of the dangers of a simple new device freely available online which heats alcohol and allows it to be inhaled - reportedly giving the user an instant but intense high.

Released in December, the $35 Vaportini acts in a manner similar to a traditional vaporizer, heating and releasing intoxicating vapors which are breathed through a straw after being heated by a candle to 140 Fahreneheit.

Bypassing the digestive system, the Vaportini causes alcohol to be ingested directly to the bloodstream through the lungs, potentially causing dangerous levels of intoxication - especially if abused.

The Vaportini is available to buy all across the United States and is legal according to its creators.

'It is ill advised for experimentation among those under 21,' said Dr. Thomas Greenfield, Center Director at the National Alcohol Research Center in Emeryville, California.

'There could be inexperienced people at parties under peer pressure who may find themselves using this method of alcohol consumption.

'It might not be possible to self-regulate their consumption and teenagers just like adults can be drunk drivers too.'

Indicating that in research laboratory's rats have been known to be more perceptible to alcohol addiction through inhalation, Dr. Greenfield warned of the dangers of this particular method of consumption.

'To my knowledge there have been no human studies on the effects inhaling alcohol,' said Dr. Greenfield.

'Certainly in lab rats they have experimented with vapor chambers and the animals experimented upon have high levels of intoxication and addiction.'

The Vaportini was created by Julie Palmer back in 2009, but it went on sale on her website for $34.50 each in December.

As with any excessive use of alcohol, Greenfield said that teens especially risked harming their own mental development with abuse.

'In early adolescence, the brain is not as formed and too much alcohol risks affecting its formation,' explained Dr. Greenfield.'

The device which its creators say is legal, bares striking similarities to the notorious Alcohol without Liquid device (AWOL) which mechanically vaporizes alcohol shots over the course of 20 minutes and is banned in 22 states.

Invented by Chicago resident Julie Palmer in 2009, the simple glass and metal device is offered as a novelty method to consume drinks at the bar she owns in the Windy City, Red Kiva.

The Vaportini works differently to the more traditional consumption of alcohol.

Normally, when a drink is taken, alcohol is absorbed 10 percent through the stomach and 85 percent in the small intestine.

The presence of food slows this process further, but when alcohol is inhaled, however, alcohol enters the lungs and goes directly into the bloodstream, causing a much more rapid and stronger buzz.

However, unlike the AWOL device which retails online in the U.S. for around $250, the Vaportini does not promise zero side effects and explicitly tells users that 'alcohol consumed through a Vaportini will be detected by a blood alcohol test.'

Over 20 states banned the AWOL device, which was first introduced into the United States in 2004/5, amid much concern and controversy.

Source: Daily Mail

Small liquor store owners call for new rules in order to compete

January 12, 2013

A group representing the owners of Washington's former state liquor stores says unfair competition is smothering their business and they want the Legislature and the Washington State Liquor Control Board to enact new rules to put them on an equal stance with larger competitors.

The Washington State Liquor Store Association, which represents about 80 small liquor store owners, has hired a lobbyist to carry its agenda to lawmakers. Tom Dooley of Principled Solutions will represent the liquor store owners.

Jas Sangha, the association's president, said both small-business entrepreneurs who bought former state liquor stores and former contract liquor store owners are being forced out of business because the rules surrounding liquor privatization put them at a significant disadvantage.

Sangha said that if a significant number of the former state stores are to survive, the Legislature will have to alter the rules that govern liquor sales in the state.

The association, for instance, says most of the former state stores' business in supplying bars and restaurants has been taken over by the liquor distributors. Those distributors under the present laws are allowed to sell direct to bars and restaurants without paying the 17 per cent fee on gross sales that store owners pay. And, the liquor association president claims, some distributors are selling to bars and restaurants at a lower cost than they sell to the former state liquor stores, though there are no cost advantages for the distributors to sell to bars and restaurants compared with the smaller former state stores.

The Liquor Board also has enacted a 24-liter rule that allows retailers to sell only that quantity of liquor to any single customer in a single day. Distributors are not similarly restricted.

The former state store owners will ask the Legislature to enact legislation to streamline their ability to form a co-op that can buy collectively from liquor distributors to obtain quantity discounts.

Source: The News Tribune

Report: More women binge drinking than men

January 12, 2013

Binge drinking is not just a problem for men - women and teen girls are engaging in the risky behaviors as well, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report shows one in eight women and one in five high school girls binge drink. That's four or more drinks in two or three hours for females.

It's most common in women ages 18 to 34, in high school girls, among whites and Hispanics and in women with household incomes of $75,000 or more.

Drinking too much increases a women's risk for breast cancer, heart disease, liver disease, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies and other health problems.

In all, 23,000 women and girls in the U.S. die each year from too much alcohol. Half of them had been binge drinking.

Talk is a great way to fight binge drinking, including discussions between health care providers about the dangers of excessive drinking.

Parents also need to play a role by discussing the topic and discouraging teens from consuming alcohol.

Of course, pregnant women and underage youth should not drink alcohol at all.

The U.S. dietary guidelines recommend if you drink that you do so in moderation, which means no more than one drink.

To read more, click this link: http://www.myfoxal.com/story/20546036/report-more-women-binge-drinking-than-men

Source: Fox 6 WRBC

Drinks industry attacked over Facebook use

January 11, 2013

Alcohol suppliers have been slammed for using Facebook to encourage drinking in a two-pronged attack from the chairman of the Alcohol Health Alliance and a former president of the Royal College of Physicians.

Professor Sir Ian Gilmore and Dr Adrian Bonner, now an addiction specialist at the University of Kent, accused the industry of failing in its Responsibility Deal.

The deal is designed to "foster a culture of responsible drinking, which will help people to drink within guidelines" but the duo said drinks companies' Facebook activities undermine the project.

They believe Facebook users are encouraged to "celebrate alcohol-fuelled culture" on alcohol companies' Facebook pages.

They reserved their most stinging criticism for Diageo. The British company signed a multi-million dollar deal with Diageo and saw awareness of its main five brands - Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Jose Cuervo and Crown Royal - increase by around 20%, while 950 staff were sent to "Facebook boot camps" to learn how best to exploit the social network.

Gilmore and Bonner, writing in medical journal Addiction in a joint statement, said "sophisticated digital marketing engagement" on the Smirnoff NightLife Exchange project, which was fronted by Madonna in late 2012, was a particular cause for concern.

They said: "An effective alcohol policy is needed to counterbalance the alcohol-fuelled culture promoted by user-generated activity in Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange.

"The concept of [the Responsibility Deal] will be significantly undermined unless corporate social responsibility is consistent in all activities across individual organizations and the whole sector."

They poured further scorn on the Deal, adding that "it remains to be seen whether or not these voluntary 'pledges' will be translated into reductions of alcohol related harm".

Henry Ashworth, chief executive of the Portman Group, said: "There are strict rules which apply to alcohol marketing on social networks which are operated by the Advertising Standards Authority and the Portman Group which ensure that alcohol is only marketed to adults and not in a way that could encourage excessive or inappropriate consumption."

A Diageo spokesperson added: "Diageo only ever markets its products to over 18s. Its partnership with Facebook complies with all the codes governing the marketing of alcohol and the brands also use it as a platform to promote responsible drinking to their followers."

Source: OLN

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