Alcohol without liquid
Encyclopedia
Alcohol Without Liquid is a process introduced first in Asia and Europe
that allows people to take in liquor (distilled spirits) without actually consuming liquid. The machine vaporizes alcohol
and mixes it with oxygen
, allowing the consumer to breathe in the mixture. The machine has been dubbed AWOL, a play on the military term AWOL, Absent Without Leave. The AWOL machine produces a very fine alcoholic mist. The continual intake of this mist over a twenty-minute period is the equivalent of taking one shot
of distilled spirits.
The machine was introduced to the United States in August 2004. The possible health and safety risks of inhaling alcohol vapors are unknown and many legislators are promoting legislation to ban alcohol inhalation machines. Michigan has made it illegal to possess, sell or use an AWOL machine, and as of June 2008, 22 other states have banned the device; Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming. Support for such legislation comes from groups fighting underage drinking and drunk driving, including alcohol companies such as Diageo
and industry groups such as the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), among others.
The machine's marketers say it produces a "Euphoric High" and the effects of alcohol consumption without the high calories, carbohydrates, and hangover
s associated with common consumption. In reality, distilled spirits contain no carbohydrates or any other calorie source that the machine could remove. Ethanol is not a calorie source except when consumed in a malnourished state. Hangovers are allegedly prevented because the alcohol is delivered with oxygen to the brain. Vaporized alcohol also enters the bloodstream faster and its effects are more immediate than its liquid counterparts.
If this is true, this will result in an enhanced
euphoric effect, similar to drinking liquid on an empty stomach. (For similar rapid absorption, stimulants are insufflated instead of ingested. The rate of change is sensed by the nervous system.)
Marketers encourage purchasers to use the machine no more than twice in a 24-hour period to avoid overconsumption, as this might be dangerous.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
that allows people to take in liquor (distilled spirits) without actually consuming liquid. The machine vaporizes alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and mixes it with oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
, allowing the consumer to breathe in the mixture. The machine has been dubbed AWOL, a play on the military term AWOL, Absent Without Leave. The AWOL machine produces a very fine alcoholic mist. The continual intake of this mist over a twenty-minute period is the equivalent of taking one shot
Shot glass
A shot glass is a small glass designed to hold or measure spirits or liquor, which is either drunk straight from the glass or poured into a mixed drink....
of distilled spirits.
The machine was introduced to the United States in August 2004. The possible health and safety risks of inhaling alcohol vapors are unknown and many legislators are promoting legislation to ban alcohol inhalation machines. Michigan has made it illegal to possess, sell or use an AWOL machine, and as of June 2008, 22 other states have banned the device; Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming. Support for such legislation comes from groups fighting underage drinking and drunk driving, including alcohol companies such as Diageo
Diageo
Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
and industry groups such as the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), among others.
The machine's marketers say it produces a "Euphoric High" and the effects of alcohol consumption without the high calories, carbohydrates, and hangover
Hangover
A hangover describes the sum of unpleasant physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages. The most commonly reported characteristics of a hangover include headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, lethargy, dysphoria, diarrhea and thirst, typically after the...
s associated with common consumption. In reality, distilled spirits contain no carbohydrates or any other calorie source that the machine could remove. Ethanol is not a calorie source except when consumed in a malnourished state. Hangovers are allegedly prevented because the alcohol is delivered with oxygen to the brain. Vaporized alcohol also enters the bloodstream faster and its effects are more immediate than its liquid counterparts.
If this is true, this will result in an enhanced
euphoric effect, similar to drinking liquid on an empty stomach. (For similar rapid absorption, stimulants are insufflated instead of ingested. The rate of change is sensed by the nervous system.)
Marketers encourage purchasers to use the machine no more than twice in a 24-hour period to avoid overconsumption, as this might be dangerous.
Sources
- Campbell, Lynn. Opposition mounts to alcohol inhalers. Des Moines Register, February 21, 2005.
- Currier, Joel. Lawmakers take sober view of vaporized-alcohol machine. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 20, 2005.
- Diageo. Diageo Supports Ban on “Alcohol Without Liquid” (AWOL) Machine. Diageo press release, January 26, 2005.
- Kliner, Kate. Liquor minus liquid: Why a new way of consuming alcohol may never make it to Tempe. Arizona State University Devil, February 10, 2005.
External links
- 1010 WINS news article
- AWOL machine
- AWOL - inhaling alcohol (gizmag)
- http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=48507
- http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/creech/070629
- Idaho Code § 23.616
- http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/Health/Perspectives-do-alcohol-calories-count-Resting-energy-expenditure-and-substrate-oxidation-in-human-i.html
- http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0100-879X2004000600009&script=sci_arttext