Smoking Alcohol: The Next Jersey Shore Killer?

Updated on August 6, 2018

Of the many addictive drugs, general society is often under the impression that alcohol is among the least harmful of substances. Not only is that incorrect, but alcohol happens to be arguably one of the absolute worst addictive substances in existence. Easy to acquire, hard to resist, a favorite among minors, and the most commonly used social drug, alcohol infects society on a daily basis, causing death and addiction in homes across the country.

With its ability to disengage the user  with many inherently human traits, such as body awareness and decision-making ability, alcohol continues to weave its way through college party-goers, excessive business men, depressed and lonesome women, and countless other groups of vulnerable people. Some consume alcohol daily, functioning, as they say, just like anyone else, but using because they cannot stop. Others pride themselves on never letting go to party days of the past. Alcoholism fuels rageful nights, stirs domestic abuse, contributes to legal troubles, tears apart marriages, and many times is never healed.

Knit together with a society that encourages drinking at every turn, the difficulty in keeping clean, drinking modestly, and maintaining healthy patterns of use, surges on. And now, more than ever before, alcohol’s influence is becoming stronger as methods of use have taken unusual turns and alcohol as a beverage is not alone.

New Age Methods Of Alcohol Usage

Recent decades have seen alcohol consumption evolve through different stages and conceptualized usages that became realities quite quickly. We’ve seen people take shots of alcohol through the rectum—a stunt made famous by a fraternity a few years back—the act of which allows for users to absorb more alcohol through the soft tissues anally, making the state of intoxication arrive at a rapid rate. The body does not, in this form of alcohol intake, use its normal methods of rejection and self-preservation in forcing one bordering on alcohol poisoning to vomit. This method, for that reason, is extremely dangerous, leads to quick and high rates of illness, and has an increased fatality rate.

Another method of alcohol intake in recent years that has shocked many YouTube viewers is the vodka-soaked tampon. You can imagine the soft tissues and delicate skin that allows for sponge-like consumption in female users. Beyond this, the news has been graced with videos of teens and young adults snorting shots, saturating their eyeballs in liquors, and even injecting alcohol intravenously.

Though not as quickly harmful, one popular method of intake that is on the rise is actual alcohol consumption, through food. As seen on the TV show It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, rum ham and similar alcohol-injected foods are very real concepts that have sparked the interest of chefs and bartenders, alike. More than this, party-goers are now seen consuming more than jello shots, as pudding, cakes, popsicles, and even gummy candies are eaten in mass amounts, promoting extreme binge alcohol consumption and a higher likelihood of alcohol poisoning.

Smoking Alcohol

And now we breach into the current and highly lethal method of alcohol intake which not only entered the market a decade ago, but outlasted other methods, died out, and rose again with a product that makes its usage very legal, public, and still just as dangerous.

Smoking alcohol first came into play in the early 2000s, then a more specific concept of vaporizing alcohol and inhaling as you would inhale effervescent raspberry oxygen at a hoity-toity oxygen bar. Machines, called AWOL, with long tubes able to be used by an entire party of guests, were seen in different social settings and public nightlife spots, and were eventually banned in many places.

Enter 2013… and with it a company intent on bringing back the oh-so-popular and obviously dangerous vaporization of alcohol. The Vaportini resurfaced like a plague, flooding chic martini lounges and bars across many urban areas and major cities. In using the Vaportini device, one is encouraged in this social and very public setting, to try something new, something interesting, and something that looks upscale to the naked eye. The sleek design of the vapor-inhalation device and the ways in which it is often displayed add to the hype and enticement of using alcohol in this way. Moreover, being able to get drunk more quickly and cutting out the potential for unwanted calories or carbohydrates that regular drinks are loaded with, makes the Vaportini even sexier at first glance.

Now seen in many cities and made to appeal to young crowds and sophisticates alike, the devices used to “smoke” alcohol are being marketed for home use. Parties once in public, where a bar may be able to regulate Vaportini use, are now being held in private homes, where limits are rarely enforced.

Intriguing as it looks and popular as it seems, the reason that the AWOL machines from the early 2000s were banned in many places was because of the intense dangers of this method of drug use that many—at home or at a swanky cocktail bar—do not take into consideration…

Associated Risks:

• Rapid alcohol poisoning
• Bypassing body’s defenses (vomiting)
• Inability to monitor use at home
• Difficult to measure amounts of intake/danger levels
• Alcohol goes from lungs to brain to bloodstream quickly
• Immediate physical side effects of intoxication
• Respiratory arrest
• Coma
• Death
• Potential risk of too much liquid in lungs from vapor
• Nasal passage, lung, and brain damage

Negatives And Addiction

As with any form of alcohol intake, addiction is a potential future risk once alcohol enters the bloodstream and affects the body. Those who find the consumption of alcohol through inhalation may also face oral fixation that is linked to addictive behaviors. These same fixations can be seen in those who attempt to quit smoking cigarettes, but who are pleased with the action that accompanies smoking.

A concerned party may notice that someone with a home vaporizing device uses it every day. The amount of usage may correlate to the usage a pothead would find normal: all day every day. This inhalation of alcohol can lead to an extremely treacherous path of addiction, and as earlier mentioned, alcohol addiction should never be taken lightly just because it is so common a drug.

Noting the ability to get “messed up” more quickly, it should be remembered that addicted individuals may find this quick self-med problem-solver perfect when emotions are low and days are lonely. The bandage to every issue in life can be adhered with diligence and speed and soon, problems fade away.

Addiction, for this reason, needs to be applied to smoking alcohol as it would to drinking it.

Have you had one drink via vapor? Or have you had six? The rush of alcohol in your veins is so quick that that measurement becomes quickly difficulty to determine. The inhalation of alcohol then promotes the possibility of more drunk-driving accidents as the more quickly someone is faced with intoxication, the easier it will be for them to make rash decisions that land them behind the wheel of a car. Quick intoxication can translate to quick decision-making, poor judgment, and risky behavior.

Users may also find that the lack of caloric intake can lead to more use as limits are set aside for a night of drinking… or inhaling. It is easy to justify extra alcohol use when there is a silver lining like less weight gain, but this minor bypass of consumption leads to far worse health risks than weight gain.

Finding Treatment

Everyone deserves to get a better handle on their life when it comes to alcohol consumption and addiction. For use of inhaled alcohol and vaporizers, one may want to look into an intensive outpatient therapy program or a residential inpatient rehab center.

These forms of therapy and rehabilitation will treat the underlying causes of alcohol addiction, regardless of the style of use. Though many medications that assist an alcoholic in finding sobriety may work just fine, smoking alcohol negates some simple helping ideas, as they won’t apply to those who intake alcohol into their lungs.

The best way to get beyond a fixation on smoking alcohol or an addiction to alcohol, in general, is to separate oneself from the lifestyle that promotes the negative behavior, such as not attending martini bars when Vapotini is available. Social life be damned, addiction is nothing to take lightly, especially when it involves such a risky drug.

Plunge Into A Better Life

Taking the plunge into treatment or checking yourself into rehab is a first step you should take in ridding yourself of the harmful action of vaporizing alcohol. There are facilities in every state that work alongside new and recently-emerged substances or forms of consuming drugs. Specialized programs or traditional ones, there is a “best” for everyone in regard to the disease of addiction. Recovery, regardless of treatment type, is where you can divorce yourself from the idea of using alcohol altogether. Getting help now is the path to sobriety!

Contact RehabCenter.net today to find out more about treatment options for addiction to smoking alcohol. We can help you get into treatment and reach recovery.