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Karina and her friends were hanging out at the park on a Saturday night, taking turns drinking shots of vodka that she had snuck out of her parents' liquor cabinet to celebrate her 15th birthday. They had finished most of the bottle when her friend, Jill, started saying things that didn't make sense and falling over.

Karina thought Jill was just trying to get attention, so she ignored her, chatting instead to the other kids while Jill lay down on the grass. When it was time to leave, Jill wouldn't get up and then she started gagging. Karina didn't know what to do. She wanted to get help, but she was also afraid that her parents would find out about the vodka.

Many kids experiment with alcohol long before they are legally allowed to. As parents, we need to be realistic about this. We can't turn a blind eye and pretend that our children aren't being exposed to alcohol, because there's a good chance they are. What we can do is help them to fully understand the effects that alcohol can have and that binge drinking — drinking too much alcohol in a short period of time — can be dangerous.

Binge drinking is considered to be five drinks or more in a row for a man and four drinks or more for a woman. A standard drink is defined as one 355 ml bottle of beer OR 150 ml of wine OR 40 ml of liquor. Teens may take binge drinking one step further by chugging, which means deliberately drinking a large quantity of alcohol in a short period of time.

Kids are drinking earlier and many are binging

Much has been made recently about binge drinking and kids, and with good reason. According to the 2005 Ontario Student Drug Use Survey, which surveyed 7,726 students in Grades 7 to 12 from across the province, alcohol was the most popular substance of choice for all grade levels. Almost two-thirds of the students surveyed reported drinking alcohol in the past year, yet there was little understanding of its risks. In addition, a significant number of students reported binge drinking: approximately 25% of boys and 20% of girls.

Kids are experimenting with alcohol early; one Canadian study showed that two-thirds of grade six students had tried it, and early use of alcohol has been linked to later abuse and dependence problems. What this means is that kids — even those well below the drinking age — need to be educated about alcohol and how to use it responsibly.

The dangers of binge drinking

For some people, binge drinking may be a rare occurrence, while for others it may happen often. Either way, binge drinking can have serious consequences. It can lead to poor judgment and impulsive behaviour that could result in embarrassing moments, high-risk sexual contact, fights, accidents, and so on. Another serious potential consequence of binge drinking is alcohol poisoning, which can lead to permanent brain damage or even death. The human body needs time to break down alcohol in its bloodstream. Since teens usually weigh less than full-grown adults do and since their bodies are still maturing, it can take longer for them to break down the same amount of alcohol, increasing their risk for alcohol poisoning.

Among the signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning are:

• confusion
• vomiting
• problems breathing
• clammy skin and low body temperature
• loss of bladder control
• unconsciousness

Alcohol slows down certain actions in the body, including breathing and the gag reflex, which is what helps prevent choking. If someone passes out and then vomits, that person could choke on his or her own vomit.

Teach your kids to get help

In the opening scenario, Karina was in a tough position because she knew that getting help for Jill would mean that her parents, her friend's parents, and possibly the police would have to be involved. But if Karina understood that Jill could have alcohol poisoning — and the real possibility that Jill could suffer permanent damage or die — then she would realize that she had to get help.

That's why talking to your kids about alcohol poisoning and how to recognize it is so important. It will not only encourage them to temper their own drinking but will help them understand what to do if a friend has had too much alcohol. Here's what they need to know:

• If someone passes out from drinking, get help. If there isn't a trusted adult nearby, call 911 or emergency services immediately.



• A person who has been drinking heavily and is unconscious should be laid on his or her side and watched closely so that he or she doesn't choke.



• Don't leave someone to sleep it off or walk it off and don't douse him or her with cold water. A person with alcohol poisoning could die in under an hour. So don't wait it out — get help. It could save a life.