Mind bending fun drink with a deadly impact
Teenagers in many provinces across China are being warned about the threats from a popular beverage that is considered psychotropic but could also cause more serious problems, even death.
The drink, "waka chaoyin," contains 4-hydroxybutanoic acid, a psychotropic drug that has been banned in many countries, because it could cause memory loss in some people as well as death, according to Shandong Province's Binzhou Industry and Commerce Administration, as reported by the Xinhua News Agency on Sunday.
The report went on to say that production lines for the drink had been shut down and the beverage removed from major domestic e-commerce platforms, but that it still may appear at some entertainment venues.
One person from South China's Guangdong Province told the Beijing Youth Daily that the beverage has been sold in more than 20 cities and provinces in China and can be purchased for around 38 yuan ($5.7) a bottle. The drink is produced for the Sichuan Shizang Co by a company in Foshan, Guangdong.
On the list of ingredients on the bottle, the company does not include the psychotropic drug but does list gamma-aminobutyric acid, a non-drug substance.
China designated 4-hydroxybutanoic acid as its first psychotropic drug in 2007.
But it has gained in popularity among the young and has largely been sold at KTV sites and online, the Beijing Youth Daily said.
Authorities in Hainan Province have also put out warnings about this and other harmful drinks and police there are stepping up inspection at amusement venues.
