FDA to Review Inhalable Caffeine
This sounds bizarre and over the top in a “who would do that” way, but then I think back…
In my crazed youth I worked two jobs, usually napping a couple hours at a couple of spots in the gaps between working. On waking I rarely had time to brew coffee, so I would dump a tablespoon of instant coffee in the back of my mouth and wash it down quickly with water before hitting the shower. Would I have used inhalable caffeine if it were avaiable back then? Probably.
Before the New Year, the inhalable caffeine product, AeroShot launched to controversy. The main concern is kids using it as a “club drug” or mixing caffeine and alcohol. Now, the FDA will weigh whether the inhalable caffeine is safe and right to brand it as a dietary supplement.
Each lipstick-sized canister, priced at $2.99, contains B vitamins, plus 100 milligrams of caffeine powder, equal to that of a large cup of coffee.
New York’s U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is “worried about how a product like this impacts kids and teens, who are particularly vulnerable to overusing a product that allows one to take hit after hit after hit, in rapid succession.”
In its defense, AeroShot claims to “provide a safe shot of caffeine and B vitamins for ingestion,” mentioning “Caffeine has been proven to offer a variety of potential benefits for health to individuals when consumed in moderation, from providing energy to enhancing attention and focus.”