Blumenthal seeks ban on Palcohol

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is expected to hold a meeting Friday at Hartford Hospital to call for a federal ban on a Palcohol, a powdered alcohol product that is scheduled to be introduced to stores across the country later this year.

The meeting, which will be held at 12:30 p.m. at the hospital, will also feature state medical and substance abuse treatments experts, educators and law enforcement officials who have suggested such a product could pose a risk to children who could easily conceal or abuse it.

Palcohol is a freeze-dried alcohol product that when combined with water or another liquid creates an alcoholic beverage. Arizona-based Lipsmark LLC, a privately held company, produces the product, which received final approval from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in March. Lipsmark’s website states that Palcohol can be on the shelves of stores by this summer.

“Without further safety testing, Palcohol is a tragedy waiting to happen,” Blumenthal said. “If federal regulators cannot or will not do the right thing to properly evaluate this product’s potential threat to public safety, legislators must take action to ban Palcohol and prevent this dangerous product from hitting store shelves this summer.”

Also expected at the meeting are Middletown Public Schools Superintendent Patricia Charles, Cromwell Police Chief Anthony J. Salvatore, Middlesex County Substance Abuse Action Council Director Betsey S. Chadwick and Hartford Hospital toxicologist Mark Heavyn.

Lipsmark states on its website that the product was created for those on-the-go who prefer not to carry around bottles or cans. It disputes efforts to ban Palcohol on its website.