Puffing Chocolate

New gadget is a breath of fresh air to those with sweet tooth

By MATT BARTOSIK

Updated 10:12 AM CST, Fri, Apr 10, 2009

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Are you a chocoholic? Do you "live and breathe" chocolate? Well, it soon may become possible to literally inhale chocolate.

David Edwards, a Harvard professor and Illinois Institute of Technology graduate, is known in the medical field for his work on inhalable insulin and a potential inhalable TB vaccination.

Now, he's applied that same science to chocolate. Edwards has created a mini-inhaler, called Le Whif, that coats the user's mouth with chocolate particles that are 80 to 300 microns—small enough to shoot out the inhaler but too big to enter the lungs (and cause choking).

The user is left with the taste of chocolate but hardly any of the calories. Each puff carries less than one calorie.

The small gadget carries about four puffs for $2.

"You can carry it in your pocket, you get the taste of chocolate, and your hands are clean and you put it back," Edwards told the Boston Globe.

The biomedical engineer has no intentions of stopping at chocolate either. He is considering other flavors, like spices, soups, and maybe even vegetables or meats.

But don't worry. Chicago-style pizza is safe from his experimentations.

"I think deep-dish pizza is best left in the pan," Edwards told the Tribune.

Le Whif will make its United States debut at next month's All Candy Expo at McCormick Place.

Matt Bartosik, editor of Off the Rocks' next issue and "between blogs" blogger, still prefers a candy bar.