ORLANDO, Fla. – When the Food and Drug Administration announced earlier this week that it was investigating Aeroshot, some of my colleagues at Local 6 were undeterred.
They wanted to try it anyway.
Aeroshot's manufacturer calls the product "breathable caffeine." Each tube contains 100 milligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of approximately one eight-ounce cup of coffee. Four to six puffs delivers the full dose. The product also contains niacin, Vitamin B6, and Vitamin B12. The F.D.A. is investigating whether Aeroshot should be marketed as a dietary supplement as it is currently labeled. The investigation will include a safety review, according to the agency.
Neurologist Todd Swick said he understands why the F.D.A. is studying the product. "You run the risk of caffeine toxicity, rapid heartbeat," he said. "You can get cardiac rhythm disturbances, or sudden deaths with caffeine overdose."
Scientific data reviewed by Local 6, however, determined that an individual would have to drink about 100 cups of coffee to suffer toxicity. Aeroshot's manufacturer recommends a limit of three tubes per day, the equivalent of three cups of coffee.
"Three cups of coffee," said one of my colleagues. "That's nothing."
It's a poorly-kept industry secret that the television news business is highly caffeinated. After all, there are multiple deadlines looming every day and multi-tasking is a requirement. Seven volunteers were eager, very eager (foaming at the mouth eager) to try Aeroshot.
The puffing was easy. The taste, apparently, was not.
"That's disgusting," Allison, a Special Projects producer, said.
"This is awful," Lisa, a show producer, concurred.
The puff is actually a brief shot of lemon-lime flavored powder from the tube's chamber. The powder absorbs in the mouth and throat. It is not inhaled into the lungs. Not everyone objected to the taste.
"It's like a pixie stick," Jake, who works in Creative Services, said.
"Not totally unpleasant," is how Matt, another show producer, put it.
Not only did my colleagues have a mixed reaction to the taste of Aeroshot, they had a mixed reaction to the effects.
Lisa felt nothing. Matt was not entirely convinced.
"I guess I just feel like I normally would after a cup of coffee," Allison said.
"I have plenty of energy now," Jake told me.
"I definitely feel I can run a marathon," said Phillip, a director of sales development. He's a five-cups-a-day coffee drinker. So he would know.
Raquel, a news manager, is a three-cups-a-morning java consumer. "I'm feeling peppy," she said, after her first puffs of Aeroshot. "I'm accomplishing a lot. There a lot going on right now, and I'm handling it all."
That may be true, but no expects the boss to replace the office coffee machine with a box of Aeroshots.
Aeroshot costs $2.99 per tube.
The manufacturer said it's cooperating fully with the F.D.A investigation, and is confident the product will be deemed safe.
This is the warning label as it appears on the packaging:
"Not intended for people under 12, sensitive to caffeine, allergic to ragweed, taking medications, who are pregnant or who have a serious medical condition."