Most people don't know that the common mouthwash products like Scope content alcohol, and not a little bit, but 18.9 %! That's stronger than a Belgian Triple! Most people don't know, but some underage drinkers do. And some are drinking it! A 13 year old boy was suspended from school in Oregon for just doing that.

In all these mouthwash products, the cleansing effect, the "tinseling" in your mouth, the killing of the germs is done by alcohol. A good thing about alcohol, that our ancestors knew since thousands of years. Today, it is politically incorrect to tell good things about alcohol. So, what you do, you don't tell about the alcohol, you add a mint-taste, and you spread a lot of nonsense like "don't kiss before you have rinsed your mouth with our product". Result: you end up with a new business. Especially among young adolescents in their normal insecure time of life.

Even better, in a business point of view, as the manufacturer you have no problems with BATF, label approvals, State Liquor Control Boards, Excise taxes, 3-tier distribution system, ... etc... Is that fair? In the beer-business, we are supposed to believe that Liquor Control Boards and BATF are there to protect minors from Alcohol, and here you have a strong alcoholic product free to all minors, and nobody cares. We are supposed to believe that strict distribution laws and excise taxes are there to promote temperance, to collect taxes, and here you have a product, untaxed, uncontrolled and free to advertise.

The best thing after dinner, is still to enjoy a good beer, a Belgian ale. It's good for the digestion, for your heart, for your mood, and it may even "cleans" your teeth. And don't be afraid to kiss, ever.

(Newsletter June 1997)