Teenagers Drinking Hand Sanitizer To Get Drunk

Kids do the darndest things, don’t they?  They’re also pretty damn smart when it comes to catching a buzz.  Mouthwash, cough syrup and vanilla extract have been used by teens in the past to get that desired drunk feeling.  These products are more likely to get you sick than drunk, though.  The new trend is drinking… hand sanitizer. 

Six teens were recently taken to California emergency rooms after guzzling hand sanitizer to get drunk.  Sanitizer is 62% ethyl alcohol and 120-proof after it’s distilled.  Compared to a standard 80 proof bottle of Grey Goose, it’s safe to say taking a few sips of the sanitizer could get these kids BOMBED.

A few years back around the time of the H1N1 outbreak schools started implementing resources to help students be cleaner to halt the transfer of harmful germs.  Hand sanitizers started showing up in schools shortly after.  Several local schools, Albany High in particular, only have alcohol-free sanitizer on campus.  My point, ya can’t blame schools for this one.  Good work, Albs! 

 In closing, if you have kids there are a few precautions you can take:

• Monitor your children’s use of sanitizer.
• Purchase packet-sized boxes of sanitizer.
  • Don’t let kids leave the house with more than one or two packets.
• Purchase alcohol-free sanitizer.
• Purchase foam sanitizer (it’s harder to extract the alcohol).
• Educate them on the dangers of drinking sanitizer.