Letter to Tom Edwards, President of the NYS Liquor Store Association, and Michael Correra, Executive Director of Metropolitan Package Store Association - Palcohol (Powdered Alcohol)

Letter

August 11, 2014

Dear Mr. Edwards and Mr. Correra:

I write to ask your help to keep a dangerous new product off the shelves of New York State liquor stores and out of our communities. Powdered alcohol, once approved for sale by federal authorities, has the potential to dramatically increase the already pervasive problems of substance abuse, especially by underage drinkers. Leading substance abuse experts have voiced serious concerns with this new product and its potential to negatively impact our youth and alcohol abusers. I ask that your members please join us and pledge to not sell powdered alcohol in their store.

After witnessing dangerous incidences of abuse due to unconventional alcoholic drinks coming on the market, it is safe to say that allowing powdered alcohol in stores may have similar consequences. According to medical experts at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and the University of Colorado, the nature of this new product makes it easy to abuse and especially appealing to those who are underage. Powdered alcohol can be consumed in several unconventional ways: it can be added to any beverage to make an instant cocktail, added to food, or even snorted for an extremely dangerous, almost immediate intoxication. Additionally, given that it is packaged in small single serving packs, powdered alcohol would be easy for underage drinkers to conceal and carry into venues that prohibit alcohol including concerts, school dances, and sporting events.

Underage alcohol abuse is a growing problem with tragic consequence. A 2011 study in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs showed that the number of hospitalizations of young adults ages 18-24 due to alcohol overdoses has been steadily increasing for over a decade. The National Institute of Health also reports that approximately 5,000 people under the age of 21 die each year from alcohol related incidents. Tragic incidents of abuse by young adults that resulted from the consumption of unconventional alcoholic drinks, such as Four Loko, might have been limited by preventing access to these dangerous products. It is imperative that we ensure powdered alcohol does not have the same devastating effect on our youth.

The latest attempt to market powdered alcohol has come with the creation of Palcohol -- a new product that comes in packets of various flavors. This product is in the process of obtaining label certification by the Department of Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). The TTB however, can only judge new alcohol products based on federal marketing and taxation standards and will not be looking at Palcohol's likelihood for abuse. This certification will likely be obtained in the near future.

Please join our effort to keep Palcohol and other forms of powdered alcohol out of stores and out of our communities. Alcohol abuse and underage drinking are fast growing health problems facing our nation. We must address these concerning health issues by making it more difficult, not less, for abusers and underage consumers to acquire alcohol. Thank you for your consideration to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator

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