Ballito teens involved in deadly Neknomination craze
Online Video sparks terror in a Ballito parent
A Ballito parent is still reeling from the shock of seeing her teenage son downing a series of potent alcoholic drinks in short succession in a Durban nightclub.
The short video is linked to the rapidly spreading social media craze Neknomination.
Begun as a simple drinking game between friends in Cambridge, England, the online version originated in Australia and is rapidly spreading through online social media sites Facebook and Twitter.
The online drinking game calls for a nominee to Neck (quickly ‘neck’ or gulp a Lager of beer) and Nominate two friends to beat his time. The recorded challenge is then posted to a social media site and the new nominees have 24 hours to take up the gauntlet.
Deadly adaptations to the game include rapidly consuming a variety of spirits and coolers in quick succession and doing something wild before, during or after drinking.
Two British deaths have been linked to the game. 20 year-old Isaac Richardson died in hospital after mixing a bottle of white wine with vodka, a quarter of a bottle of whiskey and a can of lager to make a one and a half liter pitcher he drank while being filmed.
19 year old Jonny Byrne died after necking a pint of lager and jumping in the river.
The Ballito parent, who does not wish to be named, urges all parents to warn their children of the dangers of this game and encourage their children to stand up to the peer pressures inherent in the stupid craze.
“Drinking that amount of alcohol in such a short amount of time is certain to lead to alcohol poisoning – and it’s only a matter of time before one of our children goes too far and we’re attending a teen funeral,” she said.
Health professionals warn that the liver can only process one unit of alcohol every hour. Drinking two units in short succession means that one unit is floating around in the blood. This immediately raises the BAC (Blood Alcohol Level) and disorientation and slurred speech is the result. Drinking 4 or 5 units of in quick succession as the NekNomination game calls for is guaranteed to put the BAC at very dangerous levels. Mental and physical functions become negatively affected. Breathing, heartbeat and gag reflex – which are controlled by types of nerves – might not work properly. You become breathless, you may choke, and your heart rhythm might become irregular. If the BAC is high enough the patient stops breathing and passes out (loses consciousness) which may lead to coma and death.
The frenzy has sparked many to urge Facebook to ban the posting of such videos. The site said it does not tolerate comment which is directly harmful but controversial behavior was not against its rules.