How Teenagers Are Getting Drunk: Drink Alcohol Based Hand Sanitizer!

In what can only be described as a horrible sign of the times, I was shocked to discover that a new fad amongst teenagers is sweeping the nation involving a simple every day item: hand sanitizer. At first I thought that this must be a joke, I mean who would actually drink this stuff? Can it really be an effective means of getting drunk? Apparently so. According to Headline News, one brand that they checked up on actually contained 62% Ethyl Alcohol, or on other words, the gel was 120 Proof! In comparison grain alcohol is 190 proof, containing 95% Ethyl Alcohol. In further comparison, beers can range from 6 to 24 proof.

As if the wasn't bad enough, some thoughtful teenagers are actually taking it upon themselves to distill the stuff to make it even stronger! Hand sanitizers have been around for quite awhile now, so why are we only starting to hear about this epidemic? Unfortunately there have been a rash of teenagers overdosing on the gel form and have been hospitalized. That's right, drinking this stuff will actually lead you to the hospital! When hand sanitizers actually became affordable and mass produced a few years ago, they seemed like they were everywhere! Some public locations even stocked it instead of soap. It turns out that the homeless population actually discovered the intoxicating effects of hand sanitizer, which forced many business owners and public locations to stop stocking it because people were simply stealing it to get a quick buzz.

HLN has a few suggestions though that might actually help you remove this temptation from your teenager in the home setting:

• Buy foam based sanitizer, it's more difficult to actually drink.
• Educate your children about the dangers of drinking.
• There are a few non alcohol based sanitizers available on the market as well.
• Some sanitizers also contain lotion, so odds are junior isn't going to be drinking the silky smooth and flowery smelling goo.
• Keep and eye out for odd behavior when it comes to your child.
• Keep anti0bacterial soap in the house.

Not only is this not a joke, but it can be deadly. Just like many years ago when people would huff the spray can propellents, it's commonly available just about everywhere and the worst part is that no ID is required to buy it. With such a commonly available dangerous substance, if you feel strongly about it, I suggest you write your local politicians to voice your opinion. This substance should be controlled just like superglue or spray cans. It is dangerous and should be kept out of the hands of our children.