4A
/ NEWS / FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
HEALTH
'Choking game' popular in Oregon
Up to 2,600 eighth graders have tried the dangerous game
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTLAND, Ore. — A new report suggests a large number of eighth-graders in Oregon have taken part in the "choking game," the dangerous practice of choking each other to get a feeling of euphoria.
As many as 2,600 eighth-graders may have risked injury, long-term disability or even death by trying the so-called "game" that also carries nicknames such as "Pass-Out." "Space Monkey," "Flatliner" and "Blackout."
"That's a lot of kids," said Dr. Mel Kohn, the state public health director.
The results of the Oregon Public Health survey released Thursday by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta were compiled from responses from nearly 8,000 eighth-graders at 114 schools in Oregon.
The survey, conducted in 2008, also showed that more than a third of those eighth-graders had heard about the choking game.
Almost 3 percent of those responding said they had helped someone, while about 6 percent said they had participated themselves.
The survey also indicated that teens in rural areas and those with increased mental health risk factors or involved in substance abuse were more likely to take part in the risky game.
Sarah Ramowski, lead author of the report on the survey results, said researchers were not sure what accounted for the differences between rural and urban
WARNING SIGNS
Doctor Mel Kohn urged parents to watch for warning signs of the practice, including:
Unexplained marks on the neck.
■ Doesnot eyes.
■ Ropes, scarves,
belts tied to bedroom
furniture or doorknobs.
■ Unexplained presence
of leashes or bungee
cords.
Pinpoint bleeding spots under the skin on the face, especially the evelids.
Discussion or mention of the activity.
Disorientation, especially after spending time alone.
eighth-graders but it merits further study.
"At this point, all we know is that rural youths had higher rates of participation," said Ramowski, who is an adolescent health policy specialist at the Oregon Public Health Division.
Kohn said most of the eighth-graders likely heard about it from their peers rather than outside sources, including television or other media.
He also noted it was different from autoerotic asphyxiation.
"It's really not a sexual thing at all." Kohn said about the teen choking game. "It's more of a euphoria and getting high kind of goal."
In 2008, the CDC identified 82 deaths occurring in 31 states from the choking game from 1995 to 2007. In Oregon, an Eagle Point sixth grader died in 2006 from it.
Prison protest
IN orange jumpsuits with black hoods, human rights activists dissatisfied with the Obama administration's failure to close the Guantanamo prison protest in front of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Candidates barred from Iraq election
INTERNATIONAL
Iraqs former prime minister Ayad Allawi says the recent move to bar certain political parties from the March vote amounts to intimidation. Allawi said that the De-Baathification process designed to root out supporters of Saddam Hussein's alliance has become politicized.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BAGHDAD — Iraq's electoral commission on Thursday barred 500 candidates from running in March's parliamentary election, including a prominent Sunni lawmaker, in a decision that is sure to deepen Iraq's sectarian divides.
Hamdia al-Hussaini, a commissioner on the Independent High Electoral Commission, said the commission made the decision after receiving the list from a parliament committee that vets candidates for ties to Saddam Hussein's outlawed Baath party.
candidates — most of whom are believed to be Sunni — potentially threatens the country's fragile security because it risks leaving Sunni voters feeling targeted and disenfranchised. The Sunni boycott in a January 2005 election is considered one of the key factors that deepened the insurgency.
The decision to bar the
The candidates have three days to appeal, al-Hussaimi said.
Arnong those barred is prominent Sunni leader Saleh al-Mutlaq, a strident critic of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Mutlaq has already said he would appeal any rulings against him.
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