"Smoking" alcohol vapors was a fad that went around a few years ago, and it has seemed to made a come back again. This time there has been enough research that is telling us that it is more dangerous than drinking alcohol. I got one of the unique devices that allows you to "smoke" alcohol, and tried it, but found that it lacked the flavor and the oral satisfaction that I get from enjoying a good cocktail. Anyway, here is the research and the impending warning that is being issues to the residents of the United States.
"Residents
in the United States are being warned that the re-emerging trend of smoking
alcohol is more harmful than just drinking."
A number of videos have recently appeared
online apparently giving youngsters tips on how to vaporize alcohol to inhale
it, and more dangerously, there is no need for any kind of device to implement
this. However, there are alcohol bongs,
dry ice cocktails and people even free-base alcohol over an open flame. The goal is to inhale the alcohol through the
lungs to feel its effects, but doctors are warning that this method could prove
to be much more dangerous than simply ingesting it normally.
“Absolutely as bad as drinking, maybe worse,”
said Dr. Alfred Aleguas with the Florida Poison Information Center at Tampa
General Hospital. “You have really no
clue as to how much you’re ingesting,” said Aleguas. Aleguas explains that the vapor goes
straight into your lungs, thus bypassing the stomach, liver and other organs
that metabolize and slow the absorption of alcohol into the blood. And
worryingly, there are no typical signs of over indulgence like vomiting and the
vapor can damage the lungs, leading to infection.
