WA rejects Victorian plea to ban powdered alcohol
THE WA Government has rejected a plea from Victoria to preemptively outlaw the sale of powdered alcohol.
Palcohol, or powdered alcohol, has been banned in Victoria and NSW, with South Australia and Queensland considering a similar move before the product – marketed in the US as an “instant cocktail” – hits Australian shores.
But Racing Gaming and Liquor Minister Colin Holt has knocked back calls from Victoria’s Labor Government to support the preemptive ban.
McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth director Mike Daube said Palcohol was a “nasty product” that was likely to attract young people and those with alcohol problems.
“There is great potential for harm as soon as it becomes available,” Mr Daube said.
“I cannot understand why the Minister wants to wait until we have the problem rather than act now to prevent the harms this product could cause.”
Acting Racing and Gaming Minister Mia Davies said work was under way to make a ban in WA legally possible.
Ms Davies said the state’s Liquor Control Act allowed the Minister to declare a product undesirable if it was deemed attractive to children, likely to be confused with soft drinks or confectionery, or in the public interest to do so, but only if the product fell within the Act’s definition of liquor.
She said advice from the State Solicitor’s Office indicated powdered alcohol did not fall within the definition.
“To resolve this issue, the Minister has approved the drafting of regulations to prescribe powdered alcohol as liquor,” she said.
Ms Davies said the Minister would consider banning the product should a manufacturer or supplier seek to sell it in WA.
Concerns have been raised that powdered alcohol could also be sneaked into music festivals or other events, used to spike a drink or even snorted, but a YouTube video out of the US has attempted to allay these concerns.
In the video, its producer said powdered alcohol could not be used to spike a drink because it takes too long to dissolve and that it would take an hour to “snort one drink’s worth”.
Palcohol’s website also makes similar claims. The company’s director could not be reached for comment.
Source: Perth Now, Kara Vickery, August 1st 2015
Originally published as: WA rejects Victorian plea to ban powdered alcohol
