It seems the internet has evolved into a "how to" for questionable behavior. One of the newest crazes is smoking alcohol.
In the never ending search for a new high, people have found ways to vaporize alcohol so that you can breathe it in instead of drink it. The primitive method of adding dry ice has been replaced with a devise called AWOL, short for "alcohol without liquid".
In a YouTube video, people are seen in a bar type setting breathing in vapors from an AWOL machine. A narrator says "What's happening is the alcohol is going into the blood stream through the lungs."
The way the AWOL machine is being marketed on its website leaves you with the impression that it's safer than drinking, but the Executive Director of the Prevention Network, Brad Finn, calls it "An extremely dangerous machine."
Finn says there's no way to control the dosage of alcohol and inhaling the vapor could cause your blood alcohol content to skyrocket. "It isn't a safer alternative. You're going to have it hit faster... you're going to lose control faster. That always leads to poor judgements high risk behaviors." Finn explained.
The AWOL machine is illegal in New York State but the laws governing alcoholic beverages are undergoing a thorough review. Robert Pezzolesi who founded the Center for Alcohol Policy Solutions, fears the State Law Revision Commission is leaning toward some changes that make it easier to obtain alcohol. Pezzolesi told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon, "Yes selling alcohol is a business and there are economic benefits but they have to be balanced against the public health and public safety problems."
No one answered the number in Atlanta, Georgia where customers an order the AWOL machine.
For more information about the New York State Law Revision Commission's (NYSLRC) report on liquor law reform, the center for Alcohol Policy Solution recommends the following links:
- Final Law Revision Commission (LRC) report (warning: HUGE file)
- Article in the Albany Times-Union about the report.
- New York State Senate follow-up hearing.
- Comments about the NYSLRC from the Marin Institute in California.
