Senator Asks FDA to Investigate ‘Inhaled Caffeine’
Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat from the state of New York, has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to look into “breathable caffeine,” which may potentially pose as a danger to teenagers.
The senator wrote FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to call for a review of the “safety and legality” of AeroShot Pure Energy caffeine inhaler. The product contains caffeine powder and B-vitamins.
It comes in a yellow and gray canister that resembles a tube of lipstick. It can fit in jeans pockets and is allowed in carry-on baggage. The product is set to hit store shelves in New York and Boston in January.
Sen. Schumer shared further that AeroShot will be sold over the counter, without age restrictions. When the substance is taken with alcohol, it may have the same adverse affects reminiscent to those encountered with caffeinated energy drinks.
Sen. Schumer said: “The product is nothing more than a club drug designed to give users the ability to drink till they drop.”
AeroShot is being sold online by Cambridge-based Breathable Foods, Inc., and The Lab Store in Paris. It was created by Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences professor David Edwards, the inventor of Le Whif, a calorie-free inhalable chocolate.
A fact sheet about the product indicates that it delivers 100 mg of caffeine, which is comparable to the amount of caffeine in a large cup of coffee. The caffeine is absorbed in the mouth and digestive tract. It is priced at $2.99, and is only intended for users aged 12 years old and over.
Tom Hadfield, chief executive officer of Breathable Foods, Inc., shared the following through an e-mail: “It is a safe product that delivers caffeine and a mix of B vitamins to the mouth, and it does not contain the mystery chemicals found in other energy products like taurine or glucuronic acid.”
Tags: breathable caffeine, caffeine fix, caffeine inhaler, inhalable caffeine, inhaled caffeine
