Risks with Youth Appeal

Links to articles and facts related to risks with youth appeal.

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Facts / Resources

Coalition Warns Parents About Teens Drinking Mouthwash to Get High (CADCA June 26, 2008) In Detroit, Mich., a recent incident involving teens who drank large amounts of mouthwash to get drunk surprised even local coalition leaders. However, after investigating the matter, the Troy Community Coalition found that it was more common than they thought. <Read More>

Millions of Young Abusing Cough Medicine (January, 2008)
The Associated Press - About 3.1 million people between the ages of 12-25 have used cough and cold medicine to get high, the government reported Wednesday, Jan 9, 2008. Read More

Spykes
A new alcoholic beverage called Spykes that is sized, flavored and priced in a way that critics say is aimed at teens. Read complete news release, April 3, 2007

Read Spykes Alert from the Ohio Resource Network for Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities, April 24, 2007

After public outcry... Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said, "This move by Anheuser-Busch, ceasing sales of Spykes after attorneys general raised significant concerns, is a significant victory in the fight against underage drinking."  Read Complete Article, May 17, 2007

Other drinks with youth appeal
Mike's Hard Lemonade, Bacaradi Silver, and Zima have become popular with young (13 +) drinkers. New York Times, April 13, 2007
Spiked! From energy drinks to sugary coffee concoctions, kids are consuming more caffeine than ever. How dangerous is it?
Readers Digest, July 2007
Alcoholic Energy Drinks: A dangerous mix for kids

Suck and Blow
A geletin shooter being marketed to our kids.
Read Alert from the Ohio Resource Network for Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communites, May 17, 2007

Strawberry Quick
Drug dealers are selling colored crystal methamphetamine known as "Strawberry Quick" Read More
From CBS News Health Watch: Candy Flavored Meth Targets New Users

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Articles

Libations: This Ain't No Wine Cooler. Will caffeinated alcohol be the next teen-drinking fad? (Time, Aug. 2008) If you've never heard of such things, your kid probably has. Sold in tall, narrow cans, they carry teen-friendly names such as Sparks, four maXed and Joose. As with other "flavored malt beverages" (the conspicuously boring industry name for fizzy drinks like Mike's Hard Lemonade), alcoholic energy drinks taste like cheap soda--cloyingly sweet and bubbly, with only the mildest hint of booze, all the better for callow teen palates. <Read More>

The Choking Game (Family Education, Summer 2008) One experiment that backfires involves young people trying to get high by choking themselves or their friends. Teens—usually in middle school and early high school—try it alone or with others. They do it for the perceived high that occurs as oxygen rushes back to the brain—putting the player at high risk for nerve damage, even death. <Read More>

Cheese: mixture of heroin and cold medication.
"One Saturday night in June that year, Nick, 16, came home from a party in an apparent altered state...The next day, when Nick failed to emerge from his room, Dave (his father) went in. "It was not pretty, " he recalls. "He was already gone." Read more.
Kids being sold dangerous drugs mixed with candy, PD, May 9, 2007