Disturbing New Trend Involves Teens Drinking Hand Sanitizer

Leave it to a bunch of dumb teenagers to find a new and dangerous way to get drunk.

In their ongoing quest for alcohol, teenagers have taken to drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk. Most over-the-counter hand sanitizers are made up of over 60% ethyl alcohol. And when the alcohol is separated with salt, it makes a drink that is reportedly as potent as a shot of hard liquor.

"All it takes is just a few swallows and you have a drunk teenager," said Cyrus Rangan, director of the toxicology bureau for the county public health department and a medical toxicology consultant for Children's Hospital Los Angeles. "There is no question that it is dangerous."

Although there have been only a handful of cases, Rangan said the practice could easily become a larger problem. Bottles of hand sanitizer are inexpensive and accessible, and teenagers can find distillation instructions on the Internet.

"It is kind of scary that they go to that extent to get a shot of essentially hard liquor," Rangan said.

No surprise here. Teenagers are infamous for doing ridiculous, dangerous and flat-out stupid things just to get a buzz. And if this trend keeps up, it's only a matter of time before you'll have to show your ID to buy a bottle of hand sanitizer.

Speaking of IDs, whatever happened to teens making fake IDs to buy a bottle of beer? Do they just not do that anymore, or is it too much work?