Robert Pandina, director of the Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies, on the dangers of ‘Palcohol’

Palcohol
Two of four Palcohol labels approved by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco and Trade Bureau.
Photo: Palcohol.com

Remember Tang? Substitute alcohol for the fruit-flavored powdered drink of the astronauts and you have “Palcohol.” The packaging for the powdered alcohol product received approvals from the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco and Trade Bureau in March and before it hits the market, legislators are moving to ban it as concerns about how it will be used grow.

Palcohol’s creator, meanwhile, is attempting to quell concerns by explaining why Palcohol was conceived and dispel predictions of how it could be abused, especially by teenagers and young adults. Mark Phillips of Arizona-based Lipsmark said he envisioned Palcohol as a convenient way to pack alcohol on backpacking or kayaking trips, and is fielding interest from the airline and other industries eyeing it for cost savings. He says he is skeptical that the powdered substance would be snorted or used to surreptitiously spike others’ drinks because the amount of powder equivalent to six ounces of liquid alcohol is sizable and not practical.

“Palcohol is not some super-concentrated version of alcohol; it’s simply one shot of alcohol in powdered form,” Phillips says in this video demonstration.

Robert Pandina, director of the Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, says snorting and spiking are not the biggest concerns, however. What is? Adding the powdered alcohol to other alcoholic drinks, punching up the potency and possible dangers.

“The concern is kids would use three packages and add the water of one. Then, you’d end up with three times the dose,” Pandina said. “If you take one of those packages and fortify beer, wine or something else with it, you are delivering a much higher dose of alcohol.”

Robert Pandina
Robert Pandina, director of the Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies

Legislators are concerned, too. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has introduced federal legislation to make production, sale and possession of powdered alcohol illegal. Plus, five states have prohibited powdered alcohol, 23 more have introduced bills this year to ban sales, and alcohol distributors in Maryland have agreed to a voluntary ban on the substance.

The company plans to sell $3.99 Palcohol packages by late summer. In an email response to questions, a company representative questioned why legislators are not banning liquid alcohol if they are banning a powdered form: “This is not about public safety because powdered alcohol can not be misused and abused as easily as liquid alcohol. Liquid alcohol is far more appealing to underage drinkers than powdered alcohol because of its significantly lower cost. Liquid alcohol makes it far easier to spike a drink, smuggle alcohol into a venue and to binge drink.”

Pandina is all for banning powdered alcohol – at least until more questions are answered about it. “I see no particular benefit and there are unaddressed risks,” he said.

First, he questions how it’s made. Powdered alcohol was first patented in 1972 by General Foods but has never been sold widely in the United States. Lipsmark has its own patent pending and is not sharing information about the process. From the tongue-in-cheek FAQ on the site: “How is it made? If we told you, we'd have to shoot you. We are in the process of patenting it and it is currently patent pending.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration evaluated the non-alcoholic ingredients and determined they complied with FDA requirements and are typical of ingredients found in processed foods.

Second, Pandina wonders whether the packaging will contain a warning about the dangers of adding the product to other alcoholic beverages, which he said could lead to an alcohol overdose.  “You would get an increased dose, period,” he said. “If you mix it with beer or wine or a flavored alcoholic drink, you increase the dose of alcohol without increasing the volume of alcohol.”

For that reason alone, Pandina would rather not see the just-mix-and-drink product on the shelves anytime soon.


For media inquiries, please contact Dory Devlin, Rutgers Media Relations, at ddevlin@ucm.rutgers.edu