There is a dangerous new trend making itself known on college campuses across the nation that allows people to become intoxicated by inhaling alcohol vapor, which is commonly known as smoking alcohol.
According to an episode on the “Dr. Oz Show” released March 6, smoking alcohol is defined as inhaling alcohol instead of drinking it. The vapors create an instant high without a hangover, Dr. Oz said.
“I’m surprised because it’s only one shot of alcohol but I’m inhaling it,” said Dr. Oz after smoking the vapor of one shot of vodka on his show. “As you inhale it into your lungs you feel the effect almost immediately.”
There are a number of reasons why people are turning to smoking alcohol opposed to drinking it in order to get a buzz.
Suanne Schaad, substance awareness aoordinator, said smoking alcohol has been on the rise in the recent months and should be addressed.
The act of smoking alcohol first made itself known during a surge of media coverage in 2013. More recently, the act has become popular due to an increasing amount of uploaded YouTube videos with more people questioning what it is and many giving it a try.
Two senior University students, who wish to remain anonymous, said that they first tried smoking alcohol out of curiosity after hearing about it. In order to vaporize the alcohol the students took a wine bottle and inserted a bike pump through the cork. They then pumped the air until some of the alcohol was vaporized and inhaled the gas.
However, their attempt at smoking the wine was not successful. As one of the students simply said, “It looked like there was a better method to doing it.”
According to Alexandra Sifferlin in her 2013 TIME article, there are other methods that people are using in order to smoke alcohol. While using an air pump is one generally practiced method, there are many other ways, such as pouring the alcohol over dry ice and inhaling, setting the alcohol on fire and inhaling the fumes or inhaling through a hookah.
Sifferlin also said that there was a specialized device called Alcohol Without Liquid (AWOL) that was a custom vaporizing kit meant to make smoking the liquid easier. The product came out in 2004 but was quickly banned in the US shortly after its emergence. Although another product called the “Vaportini” entered the market in 2009 and has been legally sold in the US ever since.
Custom vaporizing kit or not, there are still a good amount of students either experimenting or actively smoking alcohol in order to receive a buzz.
Daniella Roma, a junior health studies major, said that she knew of a friend that would smoke alcohol frequently, but not just for the effects of getting drunk. “I remember she would tell me she was doing it so that she wouldn’t get fat. She swore that by smoking the beer or vodka or whatever it was, it let her get all buzzed and get the drunk sensation but without having to worry about taking up any extra calories that comes with drinking,” said Roma.
According to Dr. Robert Glatter in a Forbes article, if you are feeling the effects of the alcohol from smoking it then you are also absorbing some of the calories from it as well. “Although you may not absorb the added calories of the sweeteners or mixers if you vaporize pure spirits, there are still calories absorbed,” said Glatter.
While there have not been any conclusive studies that absolutely determine or describe negative health effects, there are some known outcomes that the smoking and consumption of alcohol in general can have on the body.
“If you can imagine just pouring a bottle of alcohol into your lungs and the effects it may have, some may then think twice about this dangerous practice,” said Glatter. “Inhaling dry ice [with the alcohol] which is difficult to humidify inside the lung tissue, could potentially lead to a “burn” of the lining of the lung. Overall, this practice could be even riskier for those who smoke, or have asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).”
Sifferlin said that not only can smoking the booze harm the lungs but the body is also not able to respond accordingly to let the person smoking know when they’ve had enough. “If a cup of alcohol is poured into a bottle and then vaporized, the drinker cannot tell if they are inhaling a few sips or the whole cup, since the liquid remains in the bottle,” she said.
Yet, whether smoked or drank, William McElrath, Chief of the University Police Department, said that anyone consuming or attempting to consume alcohol underage is subject to arrest.
“The law covering this does not state that the alcohol must be consumed by drinking it. Any form of consumption, in this case smoking it, while under 21 is against the law,” said McElrath. “The student would also be held accountable under the University Code of Conduct as well.”
While this is a trend that seems to be on the rise, McElrath said that there have not been any incidents of smoking alcohol abuse reported to the MUPD.
IMAGE TAKEN from psdeluxe.com
