Editorial: We say: Vaporize this

Wednesday, April 13, 2005 | 9:15 a.m.

There is a new product on the U.S. market that exceeds, in our view, even Nevada's tolerance of behavioral excesses. It's called AWOL, which stands for Alcohol With Out Liquid. Of course, any inventor who doesn't know how to spell "without" should have his product denied just for that. But there is a more serious reason to ban this product, which is a vaporizer that users fill with liquor instead of water. It allows them to breathe a mist that can lead quickly to drunkenness. Its sales pitch: No hangovers.

We didn't like the sound of this to begin with, but when we heard about its companion product -- a portable device that works in cars -- we envisioned just one more way for drivers to behave criminally and kill and injure themselves and other people. In response to an entrepreneur who wants to sell the devices in Nevada, the Assembly Commerce Committee has amended another liquor-related bill to make it illegal to buy, sell or use AWOLs anywhere in the state. We raise our glasses of water high in toasting that amendment.