Students Report Playing Dangerous 'Choking Game'. One in seven at a Texas university tried it, survey finds.
FRIDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) -- The "choking game" has been played by nearly one in seven students who were surveyed at a Texas university, a new study finds. This so-called 'game' is played individually or in groups and involves deliberately cutting off blood flow to the brain in order to achieve a high. This is done by choking oneself or others, applying a ligature around the neck, placing a plastic bag over the head, placing heavy objects on the chest, or hyperventilating.
It is true. Not everyone that plays the game, dies. Meet some of the survivors:
From the Dangerous Behavior Foundation (DBF):
Since it's conception in 2006, DBF has been tracking this high risk teen behavior and leading the fight for effective education and awareness.The Official Choking Game Awareness Website has educational and advocacy materials at http://chokinggame.net/
Every child is at risk of being tempted to 'play' this 'game'. Many tween and teens engaging in this activity perceive no risk, often stating "No one ever dies from fainting" Education of the very real, potentially fatal, risks associated with participating is the essential element to risk reduction and prevention.
Oxygen deprivation practices are not new. What is new is the speed at which the information transfer occurs. Children growing up with current technology learn about risky behaviors through friends, mutual friends and video sharing website at warp speed.
A little education goes a long way. Click the link below to add your support
There is an alarming wave of deaths among our country’s youth; a wave that continues to go unnoticed by mainstream media. Adolescents across the nation are victims of unintentional fatalities caused by their participation in the “choking game” and though known by many names, the intent is to pass out purposely for amusement or for a “buzz”. This silent epidemic that focuses the most brutal results on our very young middle schoolers, remains hidden from public attention because currently there is no way to accurately track and report the number of cases. This lack of statistical proof also limits prevention efforts promoted by the grass-roots organization of the thousands of grieving families who have lost a child to this insidious “game”.
As your constituent, I have signed my name below to ask that you help us help our children by doing the following:
1. Call the CDC and request to be briefed on the issue of the “choking game”.
2. Support the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services by requesting that the World Health Organization add a sub code that includes the “choking game” as a cause of death.
3. Include the “choking game” among the health-risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth in the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), and make the YRBS affordable and accessible for all states.
4. Support the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) model of education as the means to disseminate information regarding the “choking game”.
Enduring the death of a child is heartbreaking. As my representative to Congress, I ask that you help me prevent other families from this heartache by showing your support in establishing statistical evidence of the “choking game,” Your efforts will assist us in heightening awareness among teens and their parents, teachers, and health care providers.`
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