5 ms·

I predict overdoses. Something tells me that it'd be way easier to consume too much alcohol too quickly if it's in powdered form.

by zymhan 13y ago

noir_lord 13y ago
That problem should correct itself over several thousand generations, check back in 40,000 years ;).
gus_massa 13y ago
The concentration of alcohol in the common beverages is approximately: beer: 5%, wine 15%, vodka 50% (the exact numbers varies a lot). It’s not possible to “dehydrate” the pure 100% alcohol to reduce its volume. It must be trapped with some kind of additive to make it look like a powder. Also, the powder has small holes, so it’s ¿20%? air and a few % of additives and the rest is alcohol. Let’s just assume that it’s 100% alcohol to simplify the discussion. So, 1 glass full of “powdered alcohol” will be equivalent to at most 2 glasses of vodka (3 glasses of weak vodka, 1.5 glasses of strong vodka). It will not be equivalent to 10 glasses of vodka. (With the same calculation, it will be equivalent to 7 glasses of wine or 20 glasses of beer. But people usually drink vodka in smaller glasses and beer in bigger glasses.) Anyway, given the abundance of morons, I also predict that there will be overdoses, but this “powdered alcohol” is roughly as dangerous as vodka.
- habosa 13y ago
  The added danger comes from the inhalation risk. Alcohol straight to the lungs will get into your blood stream easier and it takes surprisingly little alcohol in your blood to kill you. If you calculate the lethal BAC (0.4) against your body mass/volume you'll see its a very small quantity of alcohol in the blood.
  - peejaybee 13y ago
    I think the inhalation risk is overstated here. This stuff is 12% alcohol by volume according to the label. You've got about 5 liters of blood. If all the alcohol goes straight to the bloodstream, to get a BAC of .4% (.004) you're going to need to snort (5000 * .004 / .12) = 166 milliliters of this stuff.
  - Qworg 13y ago
    The Wikipedia link posted below lists "Nebulizer" as an administration method.[1] Is sugar in the lungs really that safe? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_powder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_powder
- bjackman 13y ago
  Where I'm from alcohol content is labelled - I recently learned that this isn't the case everywhere. Anyway, here's some pedantry: Wine's ABV typically ranges from 11.5% to 14.5%. Most of the common brands of spirits are 37% or 40%, with the exception of Rum, of which many brands are 60% and up. Only decent-quality lager is 5%, cheaper stuff tends to be 4% or less. Other types of beer vary a lot more, between 3% and 10%. The more you know..

I predict overdoses. Something tells me that it'd be way easier to consume too much alcohol too quickly if it's in powdered form.

by zymhan 13y ago

I predict overdoses. Something tells me that it'd be way easier to consume too much alcohol too quickly if it's in powdered form.

noir_lord 13y ago

That problem should correct itself over several thousand generations, check back in 40,000 years ;).

gus_massa 13y ago

The concentration of alcohol in the common beverages is approximately: beer: 5%, wine 15%, vodka 50% (the exact numbers varies a lot). It’s not possible to “dehydrate” the pure 100% alcohol to reduce its volume. It must be trapped with some kind of additive to make it look like a powder. Also, the powder has small holes, so it’s ¿20%? air and a few % of additives and the rest is alcohol. Let’s just assume that it’s 100% alcohol to simplify the discussion. So, 1 glass full of “powdered alcohol” will be equivalent to at most 2 glasses of vodka (3 glasses of weak vodka, 1.5 glasses of strong vodka). It will not be equivalent to 10 glasses of vodka. (With the same calculation, it will be equivalent to 7 glasses of wine or 20 glasses of beer. But people usually drink vodka in smaller glasses and beer in bigger glasses.) Anyway, given the abundance of morons, I also predict that there will be overdoses, but this “powdered alcohol” is roughly as dangerous as vodka.

habosa 13y ago
The added danger comes from the inhalation risk. Alcohol straight to the lungs will get into your blood stream easier and it takes surprisingly little alcohol in your blood to kill you. If you calculate the lethal BAC (0.4) against your body mass/volume you'll see its a very small quantity of alcohol in the blood.
- peejaybee 13y ago
  I think the inhalation risk is overstated here. This stuff is 12% alcohol by volume according to the label. You've got about 5 liters of blood. If all the alcohol goes straight to the bloodstream, to get a BAC of .4% (.004) you're going to need to snort (5000 * .004 / .12) = 166 milliliters of this stuff.
- Qworg 13y ago
  The Wikipedia link posted below lists "Nebulizer" as an administration method.[1] Is sugar in the lungs really that safe? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_powder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_powder
bjackman 13y ago
Where I'm from alcohol content is labelled - I recently learned that this isn't the case everywhere. Anyway, here's some pedantry: Wine's ABV typically ranges from 11.5% to 14.5%. Most of the common brands of spirits are 37% or 40%, with the exception of Rum, of which many brands are 60% and up. Only decent-quality lager is 5%, cheaper stuff tends to be 4% or less. Other types of beer vary a lot more, between 3% and 10%. The more you know..