U.S. says 82 youths have died in "choking game"

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least 82 U.S. youths have died since 1995 engaging in "the choking game" in which they try to experience a fleeting "high" by cutting off the oxygen supply to the brain, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.

An unknown number of youths, mostly boys, are taking part in the practice in which they strangle themselves with their hands or a noose or have someone else strangle them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report.

"They hope to get a cool and dreamy feeling, as they've described it," said Robin Toblin of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, who led the report.

The report, the first effort to track this nationwide, identified the deaths of 82 people ages 6 to 19 from 1995 to 2007 that appear to have been caused by the choking game. The CDC said the report likely underestimates the toll.

Boys accounted for 87 percent of the deaths in 31 states, the CDC said, with the greatest number of deaths among boys ages 11 to 16.

They are trying to achieve the brief euphoric state caused by cerebral hypoxia, or the cutting off of the oxygen supply to the brain, the CDC said. Most deaths occurred when a child was alone.

It also is known as the "blackout game," "passout game," "scarf game" and "space monkey," the CDC said.

The CDC does not think publicity caused by the report will lead to more children trying the practice, Toblin said.