In the practice of "choking game," also known as "blackout game," "pass out game," "scarf game" and "space monkey", teens try to experience a fleeting "high" by strangling themselves with their hands or a noose or having someone else strangle them in order to cut off the oxygen supply to the brain.
By doing this, the youth aim to achieve a dreamlike, floating-in-space feeling when blood rushes back into the brain. Up to 20 percent of teenagers and pre-teens play the game, sometimes in groups.
According to data complied by CDC, boys accounted for 87 percent of the 82 aging 6 to 19 in 31 states. The greatest number of deaths occurred among boys aging from 11 to 16. The CDC said the report likely underestimates the toll.
According to CDC, the youth tend to learn the hazardous game from peers or from Web videos. Most deaths occurred when a child was alone.
The CDC was prompted to carry out the study after receiving a letter last year from a doctor in Tacoma, Washington, who said her 13-year-old son died from playing the game in 2005.
CDC officials urged parents to be aware when a child may be trying the practice. They may have bloodshot eyes, marks on the neck, severe headaches, the presence of ropes, scarves or belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor, or the unexplained presence of dog leashes or choke collars.
Many of the dead youth were bright, athletic students who apparently were intrigued by a method of getting high that does not involve drugs or alcohol. The 82 deaths were spread across 31 states. Nearly 90 percent were boys, at an average age of about 13, the CDC found.
The report is being published this week in a CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
