Smart Woman: Teens Using Vodka Soaked Tampons To Get Drunk
By: Lane Stone
Updated: February 2, 2012
Alcohol and teens sadly, is not a new combination, but the latest way teens are getting their buzz is a cringe worthy combination.
"We heard about vodka soaked tampons probably 3 or 4 years ago, one day we got a phone call that there were kids using it," said Angie Garza with the Council of Alcohol and Drugs.
She says the disturbing trend is not new but it is picking up steam.
More often than not it's happening in lot of the Houston area.
By soaking tampons in vodka and inserting them the alcohol is absorbed directly into the blood stream and as Garza explains, it puts a person at an even higher risk of getting alcohol poisoning.
"You drink the alcohol, your body starts gagging, when you insert vaginally you're body doesn't have that protector," said Garza.
Garza says while vodka tampons are still a very real danger.
There is another emerging trend that has teens inconspicuously, getting drunk at school.
Soaking gummy bears in vodka turns the innocent candy into an alcoholic treat.
The gummy bear absorbs the alcohol and it becomes a little more plump nobody can detect it has alcohol in it.
It's secret behavior that can be really dangerous with drug and alcohol abuse.
So what spawns this creativity? Therapist Tony Aucoin says teens are always looking for thrills.
"Our brains aren't fully developed when we are under 25, we are going to take lots or risks and we get a rush out of that," said Aucoin.
Both Aucoin and Garza say what is viewed as thrill seeking behavior can lead to addiction and other dangerous behavior. So they hope making schools and parents aware of this hidden practice may be a way to stop it.
This is a trend that has apparently been happening across the country over the last few years but cases have recently been report in some Texas schools.







