Editorial: Naperville right to start early to fight powdered and smoking alcohol
We've chronicled for many years the problem of drug abuse, especially the dangers of heroin, among our youth.
Local, state and federal governments were slow at first to recognize the increasing prevalence of heroin in the suburbs until the number of overdoses and deaths brought the problem to a head and measures were taken to help save lives. And those measures have started to help. The key to any success in this ongoing battle is heightened awareness of the many dangers facing young people today.
As reported Tuesday by Daily Herald staff writer Marie Wilson another danger has been highlighted and quick action is being taken by at least one of our communities, along with the state. Getting out ahead of a potential problem is commendable and we'd like to see more of our local governments do the same.
The problem the city of Naperville has brought to light locally is the use of powdered alcohol and smoking alcohol, two forms of imbibing that are potentially dangerous.
"You can take an existing alcoholic drink and make it more potent by putting this powdered substance within this drink," Kavita Athanikar, Naperville city prosecutor, said of Palcohol at a liquor commission meeting. "It's known as the Kool-Aid for underage drinking."
The city is rightly proposing bans on Palcohol and on smoking alcohol, which is the vaporization of liquid alcohol to be inhaled.
Illinois has already joined the more than half of states that have banned the sale, delivery and purchase of Palcohol. A local ordinance would give more enforcement powers to Naperville police.
Alcohol smokers use a device such as a vaporizer or nebulizer to turn regular liquor into a vapor that can be inhaled.
"It's very easy to overdose because the vapor is going directly into the bloodstream," Athanikar said.
The makers of Palcohol - which received approval from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau a year ago - have tried to discount fears of misuse of their product like those expressed by Naperville officials.
"I don't see any movement to ban liquid alcohol," Palcohol creator Mark Phillips told USA Today. "You don't ban something because a few irresponsible people use it improperly."
We disagree. The proposed local ordinances are important to set the right tone that these new ways of ingesting alcohol can be dangerous and have no place in a community concerned about the welfare of its youth.