(Image Source: AeroShot )

 

BY KYLIE MCGIVERN

 

From Starbucks, to Red Bull, to 5-Hour Energy Drink, the latest attempt to fill that caffeine fix - caffeine inhalers - is now under investigation.

Here’s Our Colorado News with a certified personal trainer’ s take on the trend.

“At first glance, it sounds like the latest health supplement, until you learn that in large doses caffeine can cause heart palpitations, stomach irritation, insomnia, anxiety, irritability, muscle twitching and 100-meter dashes to the bathroom.”

The product, called AeroShot, is a lipstick-sized capsule currently sold as a dietary supplement.

The company website claims the inhaler is a “revolutionary new way to get your energy.”

“It delivers a unique blend of caffeine and B vitamins in a fine powder that dissolves quickly in your mouth. So you get a quick boost of energy that starts working right away. The energy of the future is here.”

Because AeroShot is marketed as a dietary supplement, it did not have to be approved by the FDA. But Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer has taken issue with the product, and called on the FDA to evaluate it. He fears AeroShot will be used as a club drug.

NY1 has more from the Senator.

Senator Charles Schumer: “It’s very possible that snorting caffeine is dangerous - particularly to a 12-year-old. There are no age limits on the product. And, certainly dangerous when used in combination with alcohol.”

An opinion writer for BostInno writes , Schumer is blowing AeroShot’s danger out of proportion.

“It’s caffeine, bro. Would you prefer the college students of America continue blowing Adderall off their textbooks?”

Each tube holds 4-6 blasts, and each puff contains 100 milligrams of caffeine - about the same amount as a large cup of coffee.

But KPRC says, even with the same amount, there’s a difference in safety.

“With something like a cup of coffee, your body absorbs the caffeine gradually over time. What doctors worry about is something like the AeroShot, which gives the body a heavy, quick dose of caffeine it may not be ready for.”

AeroShot’s creator, David Edwards, is a biomedical engineering professor at Harvard. Amid all the scrutiny, Edwards insists his product is safe.

The Christian Post has more.

"Even with coffee- if you look at the reaction in Europe to coffee when it first appeared- there was quite a bit of hysteria. So anything new, there's always some knee-jerk reaction that makes us believe 'Well, maybe it's not safe.'"

The FDA will make the final call, and review inhalable caffeine to determine if it’s safe and legal. It will also investigate whether AeroShot is a legal dietary supplement.