FDA Is Reviewing Inhalable Caffeine – Tech Thursday

A new product hit the shelves recently that has lawmakers taking a close look at the side effects and dangers it can pose to consumers. It's called AeroShot, and it's inhalable caffeine. It's being marketed as a dietary supplement. More caffeine can't be bad, can it?A lot of products now have caffeine in it. Coffee and soda are the big ones. Hell, even ThinkGeek.com, my second favorite place to shop online, has candies and other goodies with caffeine in it. But I think the difference here between AeroShot and those other products, is that they are mixed into candies and drinks and the like. Where AeroShot is like taking a hit from a pipe filled with caffeine. But Senator Chuck Schumer is asking the FDA to look into it. He's worried about taking multiple hits, one after another.

Tom Hadfield, chief executive of Breathable Foods, which makes AeroShot in France, said they will cooperate with the FDA investigation fully. He also says that if used according the the directions on the label, AeroShot delivers a safe amount of caffeine as well as B vitamins.

Schumer says that he's worried it could become a club drug, and that someone is going to abuse this, like Four Loko, a caffeinated alcohol drink. He went on to say "We need to make sure that AeroShot does not become the next Four Loko by facilitating dangerous levels of drinking among teenagers and college students."

Breathable Foods says that their target market is not anyone under 18, and that it safely delivers caffeine by mouth, just like coffee does. AeroShot costs $2.99 at convenience stores, mom-and-pops, and liquor and online stores. Warnings on the label of the product tells people to not consume more than 3 shots in a day. The company also goes on to say that caffeine, when used in moderation has health benefits, such as improved energy, enhanced attention and focus.

I recently had a bad outcome with energy drinks. I would only have one or 2 a day, but that was all it took to send me to St. Peters Hospital in Albany for a battery of tests on my heart. So I'm a little skeptical of these claims. Can you blame me? But I do feel it's not for everyone, and can still be sold. If Breathable Foods keep to their focus on not marketing to kids under 18, then I would say this will go just fine. But I do have to say, the itch to try one of these is there.

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