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New trend? Some teens drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk

A spate of emergency room visits by eens drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk have some health officials worried the potentially harmful behavior could become a larger trend.

|
AP
A spate of emergency room visits by teens drinking hand sanitizer in a to get drunk have some health officials worried the potentially harmful behavior could become a larger trend.
  • By The Associated Press

| Los Angeles

 Teenagers are showing up in Los Angeles emergency rooms after drinking inexpensive liquid hand sanitizers to get drunk.

Cheap and easily accessible hand sanitizers contain 62 percent ethyl alcohol.

The Los Angeles Times says six teenagers have shown up in two San Fernando Valley emergency rooms in the past few months with alcohol poisoning after drinking hand sanitizer.

Some of the teens used salt to separate the alcohol from the sanitizer, making a potent drink similar to a shot of hard liquor. Distillation instructions can be found on the Internet.

Although there's only been a few cases, Los Angeles County public health toxicology expert Cyrus Rangan says it could signal a dangerous trend.

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