8 ms·

> I think fruit flavors should be banned just like they are in cigarettes Should this apply to vodka and other liquors as well?

ineedasername 7y ago
I don't know. I don't know if there's any research about flavored alcohol appealing primarily to under-age drinkers the way flavored cigarettes were linked to underage cigarette use. Also there are levels of regular drinking that have neither definitive long term health consequences or the capacity for rapid addiction. Direct comparisons aren't really applicable, at least not without taking those vast differences into account.
- melq 7y ago
  I think it's pretty solidly established that an alcohol addiction is drastically more harmful than a nicotine addiction -- keeping in mind that we're talking about vaporized nicotine, not cigarettes. Your point about certain populations of drinkers being able to indulge without obvious adverse health outcomes is also applicable to users of vaporized nicotine. And again it is worth pointing out that alcohol is significantly more harmful than nicotine. I would be curious to see any research that supports the idea that flavored vape products are primarily appealing to underage users. I suspect there aren't many teenagers opting for scotch as their drink of choice, but I am certain there are plenty of adults who prefer a rum punch, peach white claw, jameson and ginger ale, or a glass of wine (it's made from grape juice for god's sake, brazenly targeting the children!), etc.
ngngngng 7y ago
Does Vodka enter your lungs?
- boourns311 7y ago
  It enters your body and is absorbed by your bloodstream. Is the delivery mechanism the issue?
  - klodolph 7y ago
    The delivery mechanism is certainly an issue here. Food additives are tested for how safe they are to ingest, and they are not tested for how safe they are to inhale. In general we know that there are a lot of compounds safe to ingest which are not safe to inhale. Just to pick an obviously stupid example, I could chug a can of soda (or seltzer, if you prefer) in one go. It would contain around 2.2g of CO2. If you put that 2.2g of CO2 in my lungs, I would be dead. (Well, you would have to keep it there. It would at least be very painful.) Or to pick another obviously stupid example, I could drink enough alcohol to kill myself. In most situations, I would vomit or pass out before I got to the fatal dose. But instead, I could give myself an alcohol enema and just die (which does happen, from time to time). So, delivery matters absolutely. For the non-obvious examples we (at least) need data. If you are putting “high” concentrations of a chemical (for some appropriate definition of “high”) in your lungs you will want some good safety data. For ingestion we already have an FDA approval process. You may disagree with the methodology, but at least it’s there.
  - zaarn 7y ago
    Digested material generally gets partially broken down by either the gastric mechanisms or the liver and other organs involved. Hence dosage for injections/sublingual delivery is much lower than dosage for normal pills to swallow.
- ModernMech 7y ago
  The idea behind banning the flavoring is to make is less appealing to children. I don't see why the way it's consumed matters.
- Murrawhip 7y ago
  It's pretty rare, but yes, some people vape alcohol.
boourns311 7y ago
LOL yeah let's ban menthols too. You have a great point.
frgtpsswrdlame 7y ago
No. With alcohol we want to encourage responsible use, so a kid having a wine cooler seems okay. With cigarettes we basically want elimination so a kid taking a puff off a 'unicorn cake' vape seems bad.

ineedasername 7y ago

I don't know. I don't know if there's any research about flavored alcohol appealing primarily to under-age drinkers the way flavored cigarettes were linked to underage cigarette use. Also there are levels of regular drinking that have neither definitive long term health consequences or the capacity for rapid addiction. Direct comparisons aren't really applicable, at least not without taking those vast differences into account.

melq 7y ago
I think it's pretty solidly established that an alcohol addiction is drastically more harmful than a nicotine addiction -- keeping in mind that we're talking about vaporized nicotine, not cigarettes. Your point about certain populations of drinkers being able to indulge without obvious adverse health outcomes is also applicable to users of vaporized nicotine. And again it is worth pointing out that alcohol is significantly more harmful than nicotine. I would be curious to see any research that supports the idea that flavored vape products are primarily appealing to underage users. I suspect there aren't many teenagers opting for scotch as their drink of choice, but I am certain there are plenty of adults who prefer a rum punch, peach white claw, jameson and ginger ale, or a glass of wine (it's made from grape juice for god's sake, brazenly targeting the children!), etc.

ngngngng 7y ago

Does Vodka enter your lungs?

boourns311 7y ago
It enters your body and is absorbed by your bloodstream. Is the delivery mechanism the issue?
- klodolph 7y ago
  The delivery mechanism is certainly an issue here. Food additives are tested for how safe they are to ingest, and they are not tested for how safe they are to inhale. In general we know that there are a lot of compounds safe to ingest which are not safe to inhale. Just to pick an obviously stupid example, I could chug a can of soda (or seltzer, if you prefer) in one go. It would contain around 2.2g of CO2. If you put that 2.2g of CO2 in my lungs, I would be dead. (Well, you would have to keep it there. It would at least be very painful.) Or to pick another obviously stupid example, I could drink enough alcohol to kill myself. In most situations, I would vomit or pass out before I got to the fatal dose. But instead, I could give myself an alcohol enema and just die (which does happen, from time to time). So, delivery matters absolutely. For the non-obvious examples we (at least) need data. If you are putting “high” concentrations of a chemical (for some appropriate definition of “high”) in your lungs you will want some good safety data. For ingestion we already have an FDA approval process. You may disagree with the methodology, but at least it’s there.
- zaarn 7y ago
  Digested material generally gets partially broken down by either the gastric mechanisms or the liver and other organs involved. Hence dosage for injections/sublingual delivery is much lower than dosage for normal pills to swallow.
ModernMech 7y ago
The idea behind banning the flavoring is to make is less appealing to children. I don't see why the way it's consumed matters.
Murrawhip 7y ago
It's pretty rare, but yes, some people vape alcohol.

boourns311 7y ago

LOL yeah let's ban menthols too. You have a great point.

frgtpsswrdlame 7y ago

No. With alcohol we want to encourage responsible use, so a kid having a wine cooler seems okay. With cigarettes we basically want elimination so a kid taking a puff off a 'unicorn cake' vape seems bad.