The Feds Have Approved Palcohol, Powdered Alcohol [+video]

A product is expected to hit shelves this summer to turn water into wine — well, into vodka, rum and a few cocktails — but not everyone is happy about it.

Palcohol, or powdered alcohol, was approved this week by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, part of the U.S. Treasury Department. But the powder packets that can turn water into a mixed drink have already been banned by several states amid fears that Palcohol can be easily abused.

“As a parent, it’s one thing to patrol for cases of beer or bottles of booze,” said ABC News chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser, who is also a pediatrician. “But having to look for little packets, I worry that it could lead to more underage drinking, making it easier.”


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He said he wasn’t happy with the federal approval and explained there isn’t much the U.S. Food and Drug Administration can do it about it right away. The FDA can only take products like this off shelves if they find a problem, he said, which is what happened with alcoholic energy drinks called Four Loko. (Read more from “The Feds Have Approved Palcohol, Powdered Alcohol” HERE)

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