Vodka Tampons? A Ridiculous Myth

The Internet’s been all atwitter with talk of vodka-soaked tampons and anal beer bongs, supposedly new fads in teenage intoxication. The talk stems from an Arizona TV news piece in which a rehab spokeswoman, Stephanie Siete, said teens were shoving liquor into their unmentionables to hurry it into the bloodstream. But she’s probably just trying to shock parents and drum up clients, Ray Stern writes in the Phoenix News.

“If a teen has vodka, it’s safe to say that the teen is going to drink it,” Stern reasons. So he called Siete and asked if she knew of documented Arizona cases. “You do hear anecdotal reports,” she replied. “If you go to YouTube, you’ll see this.” Of course, you can also see a housecat chasing away a bear on YouTube—where videos are “not exactly the stuff of which science is made.” (More vodka stories.)