Absinthe kills drinker

The Sun Newspaper Online ^ | today | Lyndsy Wetherall

[Rodney King]

Absinthe kills drinker

By LYNDSEY WEATHERALL

A DAD of three died after downing nine shots of the super-strong liquor absinthe at a family party.

Albie Webb, 49, was found unconscious on a sofa hours after sinking the green spirit. He was rushed to hospital but medics could not save him.

Tests found his stomach held FIVE TIMES the level of alcohol needed to cause death.

Albie’s absinthe was brought back from Greece by pals and given to him as a gift.

The drink contains at least 70 per cent alcohol — twice as much as regular spirits.

Albie, of Litherland, Liverpool, downed the nine shots in five hours, not realising drinkers should never have more than two.

Albie’s dad Bert, 75, yesterday called for absinthe to be banned in Britain.

He said: “It shouldn’t be allowed into the country.”

Absinthe is made using the herb wormwood and is said to cause hallucinations. It has been outlawed in many parts of Europe since the early 1900s.

Liverpool coroner’s court recorded a verdict of death by misadventure on Albie.

But Bert insisted: “Albie’s death was an accident. He didn’t know there was risk involved.”

Last year an inquest heard Steve Dunbavin, 18, died after drinking absinthe from a yard glass at a Liverpool party.

But a London firm that imports the liquor insisted yesterday that there was no need to put special warnings on the drink.

Alex Spirov, of La Boheme, said: “The proof label is warning enough. People should know not to drink too much.”

[Rodney King]

Albert's Dad Bert is a moron. He didn't know there were risks invovled in drinking a lot of liquor? Hey, absinthe is bad stuff, but the effects of the wormwood did not add to the effect of putting that much alcohol into you in such a short period of time.

[AppyPappy]

Too bad this wasn't the US. The trial lawyers would be perched on the front step.

[mhking]

What's your poison?

---

"Hold muh beer 'n watch this!" PING....

If you want on or off this list, please let me know!

[Puppage]

Absinthe makes the fart go honda

[Tijeras_Slim]

Tests found his stomach held FIVE TIMES the level of alcohol needed to cause death.

That's 2.25%. I find that a bit hard to believe. Apparently he had enough, tho...

[Fred Mertz]

I'm supposed to get a belated Christmas gift of moonshine, which I've never had before. Remind me not to do shots. Thanks.

[coloradan]

If nine shots was five times more than needed to kill, then 1.8 shots is just lethal. So the recommended do-not-exceed level of 2 shots, mentioned later in the article, is also lethal.

Albie’s dad Bert, 75, yesterday called for absinthe to be banned in Britain. He said: “It shouldn’t be allowed into the country.” [...] But Bert insisted: “Albie’s death was an accident. He didn’t know there was risk involved.”

Here's another case where in light of lack of education, the solution to some is to ban. In case anyone was wondering where civil rights have gone.

[dirtboy]

I'm supposed to get a belated Christmas gift of moonshine, which I've never had before. Remind me not to do shots. Thanks.

If you choose to ignore the warning on the label that the stuff is for external use only, try mixing it into punch. Or, swirl a bit around in your mouth, and then use your breath to clean the oven...

[jimtorr]

Albie, of Litherland, Liverpool, downed the nine shots in five hours

Nine shots in five hours? I don't care if he was drinking 100% alchohol, nine shots in five hours is not enough alchohol for alcholol poisoning.

I suspect that there was a lot more going on than just the absinthe. A bottle of Gin, perhaps?

[Centurion2000]

Where can I find some shot glasses that this guy was using.

They must be the size of tumblers.

[badfreeper]

Considering the popularity of things like 151 and Everclear in the US, I'm surprised we don't hear about this more often. Maybe it happens so often that the media doesn't bother to print it.

[drjoe]

Fascinating. There is a kind of moon-shine made in rural Appalachia known as 'scrap iron'. It consists of an alcoholic mash distilled over iron filings and potentiated by - are you ready for this - moth balls. [naphthalene]. It is supposed to be a hallucinogenic beverage. The hallucinogenic component of wormwood is a chemical compound in the aromatic group called thujones. It is postulated [by me] that the naphthalene has a similar chemical structure hence, voila, the 'scrap iron' is a home=made version of absinthe. Interesting? No? Oh well, it's the end of the year.

[wideawake]

He drank a little more than half a fifth of alcohol (about 14 one ounce shots) in five hours or about a shot every twenty minutes.

I've consumed more than that in the same time period on more than one occasion. I'm sure millions of others have as well. In fact there are thousands of alcoholics who do this every day. I'm sure there were plenty of people in Liverpool who drank as much or more than Albie did on the night in question.

It wasn't the absinthe. It was Albie.

[Bob]

Tests found his stomach held FIVE TIMES the level of alcohol needed to cause death.

That's 2.25%. I find that a bit hard to believe. Apparently he had enough, tho...

That was the percentage in his stomach. His blood alcohol was undoubtedly much lower but appears to have been high enough to do him in.

If someone drinks a sufficient quantity of high-octane booze quickly enough, the body's defense mechanism (passing out) can't react in time to save him.

[CougarGA7]

Last year an inquest heard Steve Dunbavin, 18, died after drinking absinthe from a yard glass at a Liverpool party.

Drinking hard liquor from a yard glass? I may be insensitive but that kid got what he deserved. Ever done a yard? Even with beer in it, it really wipes you out.

[Consort]

Alcohol causes some drinkers to become absinthe-minded.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

But Bert insisted: “Albie’s death was an accident. He didn’t know there was risk involved.”

There are indeed risks involved with being an idiot.

If he did infact have FIVE times the amount of alcohol needed to cause death, he consumed alot of other drinks in addition to 9 shots of 140 proof Absinthe over a five hour period. Perhaps that alcohol should be banned as well.

[BallandPowder]

Powder..Patch..Ball FIRE!

I'm supposed to get a belated Christmas gift of moonshine, which I've never had before. Remind me not to do shots. Thanks

The proper way to drink shine is not to do shots but just drink out of the jar. Doesn't take much... Invite me over I'll show you how its done.(GRIN!)

Course some of my weak kneed friends will soften it with water or coke...

[Oberon]

I'd always heard that it "...makes the heart grow fonder."

[Libertarian4Bush]

maybe he shouldn't have been so absinthe-minded.

[Andy Ross]

Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder...

[DWSUWF]

"...Perhaps that alcohol should be banned as well..."

All these damnable Republican half-measures do is increase the suffering of the poor, children, women, the elderly, homos, etc.

When are we going to finally take the bull by the horns and outlaw death?

[xm177e2]

Tests found his stomach held FIVE TIMES the level of alcohol needed to cause death.

Albie, of Litherland, Liverpool, downed the nine shots in five hours, not realising drinkers should never have more than two. If nine shots is enough to put in your stomach five times the amount needed to cause death, doesn't that mean two shots of absinthe would put more than enough alcohol in your stomach to cause death? Math--it could save you life!

[dennisw]

DARWIN continuing his long march through the human gene pool, thinning out the ranks of the imbeciles.

[jlogajan]

Hey, we have a bottle of Everclear in the house -- but we use it for cleaning the carpet.

[Charles Martel]

If he did infact have FIVE times the amount of alcohol needed to cause death, he consumed alot of other drinks in addition to 9 shots of 140 proof Absinthe over a five hour period. Perhaps that alcohol should be banned as well.

Ah, but because absinthe has a narcotic wormwood kick, it is easy to blame that stuff without spoiling the fun for those who choose to imbibe less exotic liquids. Hey, blame anything but the guy who willingly swallowed the stuff, right?

[martin_fierro]

Absinthe makes the Hart

go Fonda

(and I'll never touch the stuff again!) <|:)~

[CougarGA7]

Hey, look at post #4. Someone used your joke.

[MadelineZapeezda]

Looks so innocent.........

[Maigrey]

The question remains: how big were the "shots"? I can use a highball glass and call it a shot glass. Maybe he was using a beer stein?

[socal_parrot]

The "Green Fairy" will get you every time. How do you think the Lost Generation got lost?

[Axenolith]

From what I've read, the phrase "Abscence makes the heart grow fonder" evolved from the phrase "Absinthe makes the tart grow fonder", the latter from its ability to loosen up women...

[SoDak]

Everclear bad. SoDak learned great lesson on it's badness once. Never again.

[jz638]

shots? Yard glasses? Absinthe is not a shooting liquor, and certainly not a chugging liquor. It is meant to be watered down and sweetened before consuming.

Nine shots of 140 proof liquor could (in theory) be deadly, people have gotten alcohol poisoning from less, but five times over? I didn't think the English were such lightweights.

[sargon]

9 shots of 70% alcohol (140 proof) ingested over 5 hours, should not kill anybody.

There must be something more than just alcohol in this stuff.

I believe absinthe contains additional poisons, because even 9 shots of Everclear or Golden Grain (190 proof or 95%) shouldn't be enough to kill, especially if spread out over a 5 hour period.

One would normally expect 20 shots or more of strong liquor to endanger a person by causing respiratory shutdown. That's still at least about 10 shots of pure grain alcohol (200 proof or 100%) needed to threaten life.

This absinthe brew is supposedly 30% weaker than grain alcohol, therefore, to cause death for only 9 shots, I believe there has to be some toxin at work beyond the simple alcohol poisoning...

[Protagoras]

Albert's Dad Bert is a moron

It's hard to drown when wading in the shallow end of the gene pool.

[ewing]

Just my opinion, but Kylie Minogue makes a much better Green Fairy..

[crystalk]

With a face mostly hair,

And the vacant stare

Of a dog whose day is done;

He watered the green-stuff in his glass,

And the drops fell one by one.

[July 4th]

This was apparently a bottle of the "real" stuff. In most places, you can only buy absinthe in the form of a high-proof alcohol with absinthe flavoring.

That said, I think the wormwood may actually have done him in. If someone ingests too much alcohol, they throw it up. The effects of the wormwood probably made him pass out much sooner than he would have with just pure alcohol, and perhaps put him into a much deeper state of unconsciousness, making his body unable to deal with the alcohol.

[csvset]

But Bert insisted: “Albie’s death was an accident. He didn’t know there was risk involved.”

Albie... Albie Normal... Lol, Close enough!

[Thinkin' Gal]

Albie’s absinthe was brought back from Greece by pals and given to him as a gift.

Trying to figure out if these pals are in mourning or...

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Albie’s dad Bert, 75, yesterday called for absinthe to be banned in Britain.

If absinthe is outlawed, only outlaws will have absinthe.

[sargon]

... or, of course, he might have had much more than 9 shots, or else the shot glasses held a pint each.

[socal_parrot]

That said, I think the wormwood may actually have done him in

You're probably right. From an Absinthe FAQ page-

WHAT IS THE ACTIVE COMPONENT IN ABSINTHE?

This issue is not entirely resolved. Alcohol is definitely one main component. However, another candidate is the monoterpene, thujone, which which is considered a convulsant. Thujone's mechanism of action is not known, although structural similarities between thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol (the active component in marijuana) have led some to hypothesize that both substances have the same site of action in the brain. Thujone makes up 40 to 90% (by weight) of the essence of wormwood, from which absinthe is made (2). Thus, thujone would appear to be a good candidate for a second active component in absinthe. Indeed, thujone has long been considered to be the neurotoxic cause of absinthism.

[SoDak]

I don't recognize that verse, where's it from?

[BradyLS]

Just saw the skeleton! Creepy pic. Did you create that?

[MoralSense]

In most places, you can only buy absinthe in the form of a high-proof alcohol with absinthe flavoring.

Actually, I thought wormwood had been outlawed in all absinthe for decades -- maybe even since the 1940s. Anybody know for sure? Hemingway made a big deal out of drinking the stuff.

[laurav]

Agreed- there's something more to this, or he had more than just absinthe. I did several shots in roughly half an hour with a friend and we're both here to write about it. Maybe this guy was on medication that interacts badly with alcohol? Tranquilizers?

[csvset]

Absinthe ping

[socal_parrot]

No. Google search. I was searching and also found that a number of famous Absinthe drinkers, Van Gogh, Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, Rimbaud died an early death or committed suicide.