Dutch students develop powdered alcohol

[Jakobien]

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch students have developed powdered alcohol which they say can be sold legally to minors.

The latest innovation in inebriation, called Booz2Go, is available in 20-gramme packets that cost 1-1.5 euros (70 pence-1 pound).

Top it up with water and you have a bubbly, lime-coloured and -flavoured drink with just 3 percent alcohol content.

"We are aiming for the youth market. They are really more into it because you can compare it with Bacardi-mixed drinks," 20-year-old Harm van Elderen told Reuters.

Van Elderen and four classmates at Helicon Vocational Institute, about an hour's drive from Amsterdam, came up with the idea as part of their final-year project.

"Because the alcohol is not in liquid form, we can sell it to people below 16," said project member Martyn van Nierop.

The legal age for drinking alcohol and smoking is 16 in the Netherlands.

In Germany, alcopops -- sweet drinks containing alcohol and in powder form -- caused quite a stir when launched on to the market. Alcohol powder, classified as a flavouring, was sold in the United States three years ago.

The students said companies interested in making the product commercially could avoid taxes because the alcohol was in powder form. A number of companies are interested, they said.


http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/art..._L06873182_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-DUTCH-DRINK.XML

Ai ai :roll: has anyone seen this in the Dutch media BTW?

 

[MindAstronaut]

I saw some in the "Trouw dagblad" some times ago.
But luckly not on TV yet.

Yeah all the kids are gonna love this stuff for sure..

 

[marc]

which they say can be sold legally to minors.

"We are aiming for the youth market.

"Because the alcohol is not in liquid form, we can sell it to people below 16,"

Bad, very bad ! Selling a drug like alcohol to minors

Ai ai :roll: has anyone seen this in the Dutch media BTW?

I've read it on a forum somewhere. I think it can be handy if you want to go to festivals and don't want to cary bottles & cans. But selling it to minors isn't that smart. I think alcohol can do al lot of damage to your body and brains and I don't think you should sell it to kids still in theire growth.

I don't say they can't drink any alcohol, but hey, nowadays it seams every 12 year old has been drunk at least once, and a lot of them are doing drugs also. As a father of a 2,5 year old daughter and a baby to come in 7 weeks I sometimes worry what the future will bring us. Advertising "alcoholpowder"like this makes me only worry more.

Luckely me & my gilfriend will teach our kids to be open about our experimenting when that time comes, and otherwise these 2 expert will notice it anyway :twisted:

(and still have this little parent-kid talk ) :wink:

Unfortunally, not every kid is in that lucky position, and I think to protect them we should change the laws regarding this "alcoholpowder"

 

[phalaris]

I wonder whether it'll be snortable.

if the powder dissolves to form a 3% alcohol solution, the powder must contain far more than 3% alcohol.

My best guess is that they found a suitable hygroscopic substrate like anhydrous sodium carbonate or another edible salt or binder and let the ethanol take the place of water. This way, the alcohol is no longer a liquid but it bound as a solid.

those white lighter cubes (aanmaak blokjes) for the BBQ contain also an alcohol, propably ethanol and isopropanol.