A group of legislators have just found out about a new drinking device, and they’re rushing to outlaw it in Iowa. Representative Clarence Hoffman, a Republican from Charter Oak, first saw the machine which “vaporizes” alcohol on a news program. Hoffman says the program showed young people who were trying to “catch up” with their friends who’d been at the bar longer. The youngsters took shots of alcohol from the vaporizing machine, and got drunk quickly.
Hoffman believes the machines are an East Coast phenomenon right now and haven’t reached this state. “I just thought this is something we don’t want in Iowa,” Hoffman says. “Let’s do something…so we don’t have a bunch of machines on order and then you tell people that you can’t use ’em.” Hoffman says such a preemptive strike will avoid problems down the road. A bar caught with the machines could lose its liquor license and be shut down if the bill becomes law. Thirty-seven of the 100 members of the Iowa House are co-sponsoring the legislation.