Getting a buzz is no longer about downing tequila shots and chasing those with a marijuana joint until you pass out. In the bid to outdo the last high, youngsters across universities in UK and America are tipping bottles of vodka into their eyes. Indians aren't that stupid, say those in the know. But inhaling alcohol through an asthma pump is being tried at house parties, they admit. Getting high just got scary, says Sowmya Rajaram

A group of 20 year-olds walk into a wine shop. Some chuckling and backslapping later, they settle for a bottle of Smirnoff and walk off. Cut to a house party where a raucous bunch is egging a teen to open the 1 litre. He does, and raises it, throwing his head back. The mouth of the bottle settles, not on his mouth but his eyesocket.

It's real and it's on YouTube.

The world is a blur for someone who 'drinks' through his eyes,
like vodka eyeballing fans do. It's the latest dangerous alcohol-
related fad to hit YouTube and house parties. Pic/ Vikas Munipalle.
Location courtesy for mock shoot: Toto's Garage PUB, Bandra (w).u00a0

We have barmaids to thank
What began as a stunt by barmaids hankering for more tips, now has a Facebook group devoted to the act. The tradition of 'drinking' vodka by pouring the alcohol directly into the eye is a practice that's spreading through college campuses in Britain and the US. Those who've tried it say it 'induces feelings of drunkenness at breakneck speed' by passing straight through mucous membranes and into the bloodstream.

Call it bravado or just plain stupidity, but vodka eyeballing is just the tip of the iceberg in a list of get-high-quick practices at a time when losing yourself is the goal, and the wackier the method, the louder the whoops. Health hazards be damned.

There are no videos being uploaded of Indians doing it yet, but that's hardly stopped them from inventing their own bizarre ways. "Iodex on bread is old news. Tiger Balm is what everyone's eating now," an ex-IITian tells us. For years, the country's top engineering institute has nurtured a seedy underbelly -- that of students consuming pain balm on bread in a bid to stay awake to swot for exams. "People do it because they say it helps them remember things for longer periods of time, and it's a cheap alternative to the illegal stuff," says the Bandra resident.

Future without hangovers
That's not all. Well-kept at-house party secrets include 'buzzes' like Knockout and Go Bonkers, that combine marijuana in various combinations with spirits that promise to leave you babbling and not remember a thing the next morning.

But what's being hailed as the 21st century hookah is a new technique that involves the inhalation of alcohol through asthma inhalers and hookah-like instruments. It promises to get you tipsy without staggering to work with a hangover the next morning. Called Alcohol Without Liquid (AWOL), this is the brainchild of UK entrepreneur Dominic Simler, and has a patent pending.

The official website proudly hails it 'the ultimate party toy: It combines alcohol with extra oxygen to produce a cloudy alcohol vapour, which can be safely inhaled. The impact is immediate. The effect is lasting and hangovers are history.' A single user home machine is for ufffd97 (Rs 6,630 approx.).

It takes approximately one hour to consume 35 ml of the spirit, and is a hit with youngsters who want to skirt the drink-and-drive machinery. Once inhaled, the vapour enters the bloodstream through the lungs, making it difficult to detect through a breathalyzer test.

It's self-destruction
Why would anyone risk life and limb to gain the 'respect' of some drunken friends? Doctors say it's just an act of stupidity; fuelled by the desire to take a risk and in extreme cases, self-destruct. "A high, for people like this, is defined by any place that's not here. Uncomfortable with themselves and/or the environment, they want out," says Dr Yusuf Merchant, president, Drug Abuse Information Rehabilitation and Research Centre, Fort.

The quest, therefore, is to find innovative ways of doing that, whether by ingesting old substances in new ways, as in the case of vodka eyeballing, or by finding ways in which existing, legal substances can serve the purpose, like a pain balm. "In my experience, addicts and reckless people will always find new ways to 'test' themselves and their popularity. So they'll play around with legal substances like plants, or over the counter medication," he adds.

An eye for a vodka
The consequences, of course, are far from happy. "It a move to invite blindness," says a shocked Kulin Kothari, chairman and medical director, Bombay City Eye Institute and Research Centre. Alcohol can damage the cornea irreversibly, cause fibrosis and scar tissue leading to opacity and total blindness over time, he says. "It's cool to show off in front of friends, but it won't be when you lose your eyesight," he warns.

His fears aren't unfounded. Last month, a UK publication reported the story of 19 year-old Melissa Fontaine who is now left with a sore left eye that waters permanently, after she went on a vodka eyeballing spree at university. Permanent blindness due to scarring of the cornea is imminent in her case.

AWOL will be a hit
There's hope, though. Mumbai restaurateur Kishore DF, who owns Khar's newest bar and restaurant WTF! says Mumbai's bars haven't seen anything more bizarre than excitable teens doing one too many shots before passing out. "I haven't seen anything as stupid as vodka eyeballing here, and I doubt I will. The alcohol market itself is pretty nascent, and most youngsters who drink are doing it with the knowledge of their parents."

The most young Indian adults do is down flaming shots and B 52s in a bid to get a quick buzz, and impress women. As for AWOL, that may just catch on because it follows the same principle as a hookah, says Kishore.

Mayank Bhatt, F&B Manager at the city's hippest live act club Blue Frog, agrees. "AWOL inhalation might catch on because I know it's already being tried at private house parties in the city. But vodka eyeballing? Not by a long shot! I haven't seen anything that shocking. I think we are okay."

For now, at least.

The handbook

How to experience a creative but safe high

Rum cake
Bake a rum cake. Basically, it's a sponge cake that's been soaked in rum. It's the the rum glaze that soaks in after baking that makes it fabulous! Those who've tried it say, once you taste theu00a0 perfect Bacardi rum cake,u00a0 you just can't help asking for more. Puerto Rican rums are known the world over, and that's where Bacardi comes from. Soft, juicy and melt in the mouth. The Internet is packed with easy at-home recipes, so surf, and bake for a delicious buzz.

Vodka watermelon
Make a vodka watermelon. Buy a watermelon and a 375 ml bottle of vodka. Carve out a circle in the skin of the watermelon, exposing the fruit inside. Open the bottle, insert the open bottle with force into the exposed fruit. Let the vodka bottle sit for a while. Do this until the entire bottle has been absorbed into the fruit. Depending on your watermelon, this may take up to a few days. Chill, slice and enjoy.

Spiked jello shots
One of the more creative ways to serve alcohol at a party is to work it into gelatin, and serve the gelatin in small plastic cups, making what most people call Jello shots. It's pretty much like making regular jelly, except with some alcohol added instead of cold water. Spray the inside of the cups with cooking spray, so the Jello slides easily out of the cups. Adding popsicle sticks into the cups before setting works well.

What's on at Indian bars?

Shatbhi Basusays gasoline shots are popular
"Indians are pretty sensible with their drinks. The most we'll do is go on a bender until we pass out, or drink and drive," says Shatbhi Basu, master mixologist and beverage consultant. Basu says 'gasoline shots' (rum and peach snapp) and inhaling fumes of burnt alcohol (alcohol flamed in a glass, covered with another glass, and then inhale through straws)u00a0 are popular with young drinkers these days.

"But that's it."

Olson Pereira says we love to drink to get sloshed
"Thankfully, I've never heard or seen anyone here do anything this stupid. These days, people want potent drinks that can get them really high really quick. So we get a lot of requests for Absinthe and flaming shots. For the same reason, Long Island Ice Tea is also a hit. Warm drinks like whisky and rum are popular too, as is Sambuca and the Flaming Lamborghini. The latter is a hit simply because it looks great."

Trend forecast

'White spirits will outdo dark ones'

Kishore DF, Restaurateur
"White spirits will soon outdo brown spirits. We'll see alcohol sales getting de-regularised, and you might be able to buy alcohol easily and freely at all supermarkets."

Mayank Bhatt, F&B Manager, Blue Frog
"Absinthe will be the next big thing. In general, drinks with higher alcohol content, the kind that get you high with very little, will find favour with people, as will European liquers."

Why they are doing it

Dr Yusuf Merchant on why those who take fatal risks with alcohol and drugs, do it
"I don't want to be here, and I want someone to watch as I try to get out. That's what they are thinking."

In Music
Believe it or not
Rumour has it that Axl Rose, lead singer of rock band Guns n Roses, would stuff LSD under his trademark bandanna right before a concert kicked off. He believed the drug would combine with sweat and seep into his brain through his forehead, giving him an instant high.

On film
The actor did it
In the 2000 film Kevin & Perry Go Large, Rhys Ifans played a principal character called Eyeball Paul, so named because he drank vodka through his eye.

The singer did it
Last year, Grammy Award-winning singer Amy Winehouse,u00a0 known for a history of drug and alcohol abuse problems, sunk to a new low (quite literally) when she reportedly crawled on all fours and begged guests for booze at a Caribbean resort after the resort staff, tired of her behaviour, refused to serve her.