Beware of Alcohol and Nebulizers

Among the many drug and alcohol dangers parents need to be aware of - there is something new. Kids are putting alcohol into nebulizers and inhaling the vapors straight into their lungs, where the alcohol is absorbed much more quickly than through the stomach.

A nebulizer is a machine that converts a liquid form of medicine into a fine mist or vapor that is inhaled into the lungs, usually through a tube with a mouthpiece. Many households have them to treat young children with asthma, allergies, or other upper respiratory ailments.

Now the helpful device is being used to get high quickly. When the alcohol is taken as a mist instead of a liquid, it enters the bloodstream faster and the effects are more immediate. On the bright side, users are not supposed to suffer the effects of a hangover. However, who knows how true this is. Not to mention the effects of alcohol being inhaled into the lungs is unknown. This is new territory and parents need to be aware as always of any potential dangers. The more we know, the better we are equipped to keep kids safe.

Apparently, the method of vaporizing alcohol has been popular for some time among your hardcore alcoholics. Now it's trickled down to the average suburban teenager. Almost anyone can get hold of a nebulizer and if they don't have hard liquor on hand, kids may resort to rubbing alcohol or something worse. Inhalants are nothing new, but this is just a new trick on the old block.

A couple of years ago, a company came out with the AWOL (Alcohol Without Liquid) as a way to capitalize on the practice. If you've got $300 to burn, you can buy a special machine to vaporize your alcohol. That's a lot more than your basic medical model goes for. Apparently, the idea never caught on too well. Turns out some of us responsible adults actually enjoy the process of drinking our alcohol.

According to Wikipedia, marketers of the legitimate machine warn users not to use it more than once in a 24-hour period. I'm sure the kids aren't taking that precaution.

Here's a lovely little forum where people discuss different drugs and delivery methods. In this thread they're discussing the pros and cons of using a nebulizer to get high. It's nice to know what you're up against.

Not only are kids using nebulizers to inhale alcohol, some are just inhaling booze straight up. Here are pictures of Prince Harry doing just that in this new deadly drinking game.