SAN FRANCISCO -- Consumer watchdog group Alcohol Justice has reported that 31 states have now legislated or regulated complete bans on powdered alcohol, and California is on the way to a ban, it said.
The California Assembly unanimously passed AB 1554. A companion bill, SB 819, unanimously passed the Senate last month. To date, 113 out of 120 California legislators have voted for a powdered alcohol ban, said the group.
Last March, Alcohol Justice urged legislators nationwide to pass emergency legislative action in response to news that the U.S. Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau (TTB) had approved labels for the powdered alcohol product, Palcohol. The TTB approval gave a green light for the tax rates and labels, allowing states to allow the product, regulate or ban.
Since then, new laws have been passed in 31 states to prohibit the possession, purchase, sale, offer for sale, distribution, manufacture or use of powdered alcohol. Most states make the violation of these provisions punishable with fines. There are 10 states that have legislation in the pipeline to ban the products. There are only three states that allow sales.
"Powdered alcohol is a dangerous product that has been designed and marketed as a way to make super-charged cocktails on the go," said California Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D), author of AB 1554. "Binge drinking and alcohol-related deaths are already a huge problem in California and adding powdered alcohol to the mix is a recipe for disaster," said Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks), author of AB 1554.
"We are grateful to the states that have placed public health and safety above commerce. We will continue to encourage elected leaders in states that have yet to take action to do so to keep the powdered alcohol threat out of their states as well," said Lee Livingston, executive director and CEO of Alcohol Justice, San Rafael, Calif.
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