im keen...

http://www.gizmag.com.au/go/2633/

A new way of consuming alcohol that offers an immediate hit with no hangover the next day has been introduced in the United Kingdom.The new method is known as AWOL, an acronym for 'Alcohol With Out Liquid', and could become a hit in the global club scene due to the euphoric 'high' created when alcohol is vaporised, mixed with oxygen and inhaled. Billed at launch as the 'ultimate party toy', AWOL machines serve bar customers via tubes and could be seen as a modern version of the 'Nargile' or 'Hookah' water-pipe which originated in India and became an important part of society in Turkey and Middle Eastern countries in the 17th century, eventually becoming the height of fashion at sheik Western society parties during the late 19th and early 20th century.

Like the Hookah, the AWOL machine has a central body and a number of tubes running from it.The user chooses which spirit will be used and the spirit is loaded into a diffuser capsule in the machine. The oxygen bubbles are then passed through the capsule, absorbing the alcohol, before being inhaled through a tube. The resultant cloudy alcohol vapour is then inhaled from the end of the tube via a device akin to an asthma inhaler.

Once inhaled, the alcoholic gas goes straight into the bloodstream to give an instant 'hit'. The potent combination of oxygen and alcohol creates a feeling of well-being which intensifies the longer the vapour is inhaled.This high-tech 21st century 'Hookah' is the brainchild of 30 year old UK entrepreneur Dominic Simler, and has a patent pending.

"The vapour produces an instant 'high' with no hangover the next day,' said Simler, who will market the machines to clubs and bars in the UK to provide 'partygoers and hedonists with a radical new way to consume alcohol."

Kinda dangerous. When you've been drinking too much, you won't drink anymore cos you'll throw up everywhere. But with this, you'll just keep going til you pass out ... Sounds awesome!

except it doesn't work very well, so you'd have a lot of trouble getting drunk this way.

you just can't get the concentration high enough in vapour form, and considering alcohol starts entering the bloodstream in the stomach what the hell is the point.

this idea probably works as well as sticking your hand in a bucket of ethanol.

i wonder if there are any health concerns with this method of delivery, no hangover sounds like a winnner tho.

=\

Sounds dangerous. When you have had enough you spew like its already been said, but if you just keep going and going and going....

So if I have a diffuser at home I can do this. meh it would be me useful to use a diffuser with nicotine then you could get a nicotine hit with out having to smoke tobacco.

I heard about this a little while ago. Doesn't sound very good imo - it would definetely be abused. I would rather some kind of physical indication I've had too much (you're not exactly likely to make a responsible decision to stop drinking when you're drunk otherwise).

Also, aren't the health concerns *obvious*...

i mean in terms of how it affects the brain

i guess these will only be at non-smoking bars :P BEWM!

old news :) http://qgl.ausforums.com/?agn=thread&id=2011435
(04)

I think this would be better than a stomach full of booze. If you guys are saying you stop drinking when you feel like throwing up (or start to feel a little queezy) then the problem is you still have alot of alcohol still in your stomach waiting to be absorbed. Waiting until you feel the effects of alcohol is probably the least accurate (safe) way of judging how much you should drink. If you have had 8 drinks, for example, and start feeling it, you have probably only absorbed 4 of those drinks. With the inhaled way, if it works as well as a liquid drink, at least after 4 'hits' you would feel it and stop and wouldn't then have to absorb another 4 hits/drinks.

If you had two people pass out, one from drinking, the other from 'inhaling' I would rather be the one from inhaling.

I heard a story on the radio about these when there was mention of it coming to Australia, about 2 years ago now. Apparently it can affect the brain much more than normal alcohol consumption, but because it is relatively new no solid research had been conducted.

i mean in terms of how it affects the brain

Oh, ok - well, that's a fair point then.

I just did a quick search on the Medline database at uni but wasn't able to find anything... (I'm guessing this means it has the same effects on the brain in vapour form as it does in liquid form?).

Also, I'd be worried about the effects on the lungs and heart.

Edit: Just read Billy's post. Maybe it is worse for the brain than "normal" alcohol?

last edited by Agent 99 at 11:15:40 28/Mar/06

I did my RSA recently and this topic came up. Someone mentioned the type of vodka you put in a tall shot glass, put a coaster over it, and pierce the coaster with a straw and suck up the vapor. Goes hand in hand with lighting sambuca shots and catching the vapour in the glass and inhaling it.

The RSA person basically said the government is moving towards banning this form of alcahol consumption (in queensland anyway). It goes hand in hand with the new legislation involving compulsory RSA's for all those working in the industry. If I am not mistaken. Even though it may not be specifically banned, knowone with an RSA would let people inhale alcohol at a bar, the problems involved and the consequences would be extremely painful.

It is pretty dangerous to consume alcahol this way, no liquid will still make you sick, I do not see how it avoids hangovers since alcahol reduces your hydration and the symptons of a hangover are a result of de-hydration. Either way it would never be allowed to happen in pubs and clubs because of the dangers involved.

See this http://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/SLS/RIS_EN/2006/06SL022R.pdf

actually a hangover is a result of the build up of toxins in your body, not directly from dehydration although it does cause specific symptoms such as the dreaded headache.

I'm pretty sure the report I heard was on Hack on JJJ. I wish I could remember the specifics but can't. I would definately be keen to give this a go, but would like to know more about the risks involved first. That other thread might have some more details? If there were no additional effects, I would much rather inhale to save my poor, poor liver. And if you want to compare that to smoking, I recall that you only need to inhale this once (not constantly) to get the desired effects and obviously the gases are much less harmful.

That other thread might have some more details? If there were no additional effects, I would much rather inhale to save my poor, poor liver.

I would assume your liver still has to process the alcohol out of your bloodstream?

last edited by trog at 13:48:54 28/Mar/06

hangovers are caused by acohol breaking down into toxins in your body (right?) so you'd still get hangovers and dehydrated. And yeah trog's right about the liver part.

plus it would be so much easier to get alcohol poisening imo.

plus alcohol is yummy :(

edit: where's that doctor/med student nigga when you need him?

last edited by taggs at 14:44:10 28/Mar/06

I don't think it makes you dehydrated because of the different way it's absorbed into your blood...

Wikipedia tells me a hangover or veisalgia is the sum of unpleasant physical effects following heavy consumption of alcohol or the use of other drugs. The most common reported characteristics of a hangover are feelings of extreme thirst (dehydration), feelings of being more tired than usual, nausea and headaches. The main cause of a hangover is lowered blood sugar from excess build up of NADH. When drinking alcohol it is quicky metabolized (two steps versus more than 20 for glucose) and produces the high energy molecule NADH. Excess NADH builds up and slows down gluconeogenesis in the liver, thus causing hypoglycemia.

last edited by d[o_0]b at 15:07:14 28/Mar/06

Best invention ever.

It does sound good, but I think it kills brain cells much more efficiently than alcohol! I guess if you didn't have much going for you in life it wouldn't be a problem!#!#!

alcohol is a dieuretic (sp!?) so i'm pretty sure it will dehydrate you no matter how it enters your system.

also, if the alcohol goes straight into your blood without being metabolised won't it wreak havoc on your system?

we really should all wait for that med student guy to come lay the smack down.

google knows all.

re calories:

Most of the calories in liquor come from ethanol, an alcohol that is present in all alcoholic beverages, liquid or vaporized. Ethanol enters the bloodstream following ingestion or inhalation and is broken down by the body, releasing roughly seven calories per gram (compared to nine calories/gram for fats and about four calories/gram for carbohydrates and proteins) in either case. Nor is a shot inhaled through the machine more "low-carb" than a regular one since hard liquor (in contrast to beer and wine) does not contain carbohydrates in the first place.

re hangovers:

The issue of hangovers is trickier since there are several reasons they occur, including the presence of other substances called congeners (usually other alcohols, such as methanol, found especially in brandy and whisky); the effects of ethanol itself on the body; and the action of a fairly toxic substance called acetaldehyde, formed when ethanol is broken down in the liver. It is possible that some congeners would be left behind during AWOL's vaporization process and thus not ultimately inhaled. However, the many other factors that contribute to hangovers—dehydration, the disruption of electrolyte balances, and changes in sleep rhythms—are all caused by ethanol itself and would occur whether it was ingested or inhaled. Acetaldehyde, too, would be produced in either case since most ethanol in the blood is broken down by the liver. (Small amounts are also eliminated in urine and sweat and by exhalation.) All of which is to say that AWOL is unlikely to represent a milder, healthier alternative to old-fashioned drinking by ingestion.

In fact, depending on how much one inhales, the very opposite could be true. In particular, intensive inhalation may be more likely to cause alcohol toxicity than binge drinking. This is because vaporized alcohol, as it enters the bloodstream directly from the lungs, is not subject to the protective effects of the digestive system—notably, the impulse to vomit. The machine is apparently calibrated with this danger in mind—using AWOL, it takes 20 minutes to inhale the equivalent of one shot—and the company's promotional materials recommend no more than two sessions, or two shots, in a 24-hour period. Nonetheless, an enthusiast who exceeded this limit or tinkered with the amount delivered by the device itself could no doubt raise her blood alcohol level very dramatically.

both taken from http://www.slate.com/id/2106393/

also BBC report from 2004 suggests it is potentially worse for your brain than regular drinking:

Professor James, who is head of clinical medical sciences at the university, said: "This could do irreversable damage to the nerves, lead to swelling and possibly lead to dementia in the long term."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3493487.stm

edit: can't quote cause im retarded.

last edited by taggs at 15:46:31 28/Mar/06

Don't worry I am sure sure this countrys massive population of fun sherrifs will stop it before it gets here. Won't somebody think of the children.

we really should all wait for that med student guy to come lay the smack down.

Here I am! (PS I'm female BTW) What's the question here? Alcohol absorbed into the bloodstream in this manner will be metabolised the same as alcohol you drink - by the liver. Alcohol consumed by drinking will take longer to have an effect as it has to first be absorbed by the stomach before it can pass to the liver to be broken down into its active components. Inhaled alcohol will be absorbed directly into the bloodstream thereby reaching full effect more rapidly.

In regards to hangovers, dehydration does have a role to play however one of the substances that alcohol is broken down to (acetaldehyde) has toxic effects that cause some of the symptoms of hangover e.g. nausea and vomiting.

Alcohol absorbed into the bloodstream in this manner will be metabolised the same as alcohol you drink - by the liver.
...
In regards to hangovers, dehydration does have a role to play however one of the substances that alcohol is broken down to (acetaldehyde) has toxic effects that cause some of the symptoms of hangover e.g. nausea and vomiting.

So you're saying that basically you'd still get a hang over even if you're consuming alchohol this way?

I agree with taggs I like the the taste of (some) alchoholic drinks. I'd rather drink it than inhaling it.

haha, med student guy

More like AWOLD...

I think this invention would ROCK! But the select few who just cant stop will ruin it for the majority.
Drinking sucks - tastes like ass and burns all the way down. Plus if you have eaten beforehand you are too full to drink anything!

Do you really think you wouldn't feel breathing it?

next thing you know all the candy ravers will be trying to learn how to breathe through their a****** like that turtle so they can not only jam their eccies up there but now they can also ram a hose up their clacka and get drunk too.

f*** YEAH GO RAVER GO

hahahah