The Choking Game

A grief-stricken father is determined to put an end to an Internet fad that is killing teenagers looking for a rush.

Some 1,200 students attend Issaquah High School. And by the Center for Disease Control's estimations, that means more than 200 of them have passed out while playing the choking game.

Statistics provided by the DB Foundation, a nonprofit educational group, show 75 percent of surveyed children between ages 9 and 16 have heard of or have played the game. Almost all teens are convinced it's safe, but the game killed Issaquah High student Kevin Tork.

By all accounts, Tork was an All-American kid. He's described as a funny and helpful teen who loved drama, poetry and his kid sister.

On March 30, Tork's sister found him dead, slumped over with a bathrobe belt tied around his neck.

"She'll never have that picture out of her mind," said his father, Ken Tork.

Ken Tork is convinced he died while playing the choking game. The game involves cutting off the circulation to the brain until one passes out. The hope is that one wakes up with a huge rush.

Several Web sites tout the game as a safe and legal way to obtain a brief sense of euphoria and an altered state of consciousness. But Ken Tork is convinced the game, especially when played alone, is deadly 90 percent of the time.

"I would have staked my life on the fact that my son would never do this," he said. "In fact I did, and I lost."

And to spread word about the dangers of the game, Ken Tork has joined the DB Foundation. The group's research says self-choking often takes place among well-adjusted, high-achieving students between the ages of 9 and 16. The game is said to have predominantly male participants.

Ken Tork said he warned his son months about the game, which could cause seizures, brain damage, retinal hemorrhaging and even a stroke.

Now he's warning parents to check Internet history on home computers and to keep an eye on their teenagers, even the well-behaving ones.

"These kids are playing it underground where they don't talk to their parents because they know. They know they're not supposed to do this," he said.

Ken Tork says his own son was a good kid who played a game where there are no winners.

"We've been convicted to a life sentence of pain and loss. We've experienced the worst pain life can throw at you," he said

The game goes by several names, including "pass out game," "fainting game" and "black out." There are dozens of other slang names, including "natural high," "five minutes of heaven" and "purple dragon."

Warning signs include frequent or severe headaches, bruising or red linear marks around the neck, bloodshot eyes, change in attitude, disorientation or grogginess after time alone, locked or blocked doors and unusual demands for privacy.

Who thinks of these stupid games? Or is it that our children are just that stupid?
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