September 20, 2004
Hello! Up until recently, almost everyone has been in denial. "Until the 1990's,
deaths due to alcohol poisoning were largely ignored by the media.
Families who lost a child due to AOD (alcohol overdose) suffered
in silence. College campuses, where a great many of the deaths
occurred, sought to avoid adverse publicity. Death certificates
said 'cardiac arrest' or 'asphyxiation.' Medical examiners sometimes
chose to tell a grieving family, 'It was a freak accident,' rather
than 'Your son/daughter drank him/herself to death.' In 1994,
a Federal law was passed requiring colleges to publish all student
deaths. Finally, these tragic AOD stories are in newspapers and
on national television; stories like the one about a 16-year-old
cheerleader in Illinois who died after drinking a bottle of schnapps
on a friend's dare." This denial has led to generations of ignorance. Those choosing to try alcohol, as well as their friends and family members, don't always realize how severe the results of the experimentation might be--until it's too late. "Families learn,
in the most difficult way, that alcohol can be a lethal drug.
Teenagers are particularly vulnerable to AOD [alcohol overdose].
Of the first 8 cases RID [Remove Intoxicated Drivers] discovered,
half were 16 years old or younger. At least half were first-time
drinkers and had never been drunk before. Five were put to bed
by friends or their own parents to 'sleep it off,' only to be
found dead in the morning. Their friends or parents didn‚t
know that if a person drinks too much alcohol quickly before falling
asleep, the alcohol will shut down breathing and heart functions
and kill a person within a few hours." Ignorance of the fact that alcohol is a poison that can kill in one binge has taken another life. The recent death of a Colorado State University (CSU) sophmore has made national headlines. "Reports show someone
was keeping an eye on Spady and thought
she had just passed out Saturday night. The Poison Control Center
suggests that if someone passes out, someone watching them should
check and make sure they can wake up. If they don't respond to
a slap in the face, call 911." While alcohol affects the body more severely when it is mixed with other drugs, it can be fatal all by itself. "Police suspect
Samantha Spady, 19, died from an alcohol overdose. Two newspapers
have reported she had a blood-alcohol level of 0.43 percent, but
coroner's officials have not confirmed that figure. ... In high
school, Spady was involved in the DARE program as well as being
cheerleading captain, senior class president, homecoming queen
and a member of the National Honor Society." This event has been a
wake-up call for Spady's friends. "Spady's death came
as a shock to many of her friends and peers, who just began their
fall semester. ... 'We must be This is not how anyone planned to start the new semester. While it touches the students personally, even the administration is taking it seriously. "Following the death
of a female student and two off-campus riots, Colorado State University
officials on Thursday said alcohol sales for most of its football
stadium would be suspended until at least Feb. 1. University President
Larry The police are also taking
it seriously. Police Wednesday cited 19 men and women for providing
alcohol to minors. Two weeks earlier, off-campus parties erupted
in mayhem on two consecutive nights. Rioters overturned cars,
uprooted signs and threw eggs, rocks and bottles. Six people were
arrested; the university expelled seven students." What about where you live? In a letter to the campus community, the president of CSU wrote: "As you all know,
Colorado State is not alone in dealing with the issue of alcohol
abuse. The 'Snapshot of Annual High-Risk Drinking Consequences,'
from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, provides
some jarring information: CSU has been given a graphic example of the need to deal with alcohol as a serious problem, but it is not just a serious problem for them. If you drink, or if you know someone who does, then you need to know: "The more you drink,
the more damage is done. You can get alcohol poisoning if you
drink too much. As the level of alcohol in your blood rises, the
chemicals in your body can cause vomiting or seizures, or you
may pass out." "Signs and symptoms
of alcohol poisoning (ethanol overdose) include: "According to a
federal survey, 2.6 million teenagers don't know that a person
can die from an alcohol overdose. (Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention, 1996) What do students in your school know about alcohol
poisoning?" After seeing how much
they know (or don't know) about what alcohol can really do, students
can get excellent information on topics ranging from "Mechanisms
of alcohol poisoning" to "Bystanders (friends, parents,
strangers) "The following information
literally saves lives. It could save a friend or maybe even you.
Teens pictured in this piece died from alcohol poisoning."
Questions of the Week: Please email me with any ideas or suggestions.
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