Cologne Killing Young Saudi Men

(Jeddah, Saudi Arabia) Social science experts are calling for a national awareness campaign after a rash of deaths of young Saudi men who drank cologne containing methyl alcohol. Although alcohol is prohibited in the Kingdom, 17 young Saudis have died in the recent past believing anything that lists alcohol as an ingredient is safe to drink.

From ArabNews.com:

Al-Nadwa daily recently launched an investigation into the practice in an effort to warn young people and hopefully save lives.

"This problem started four years ago when a number of university and high school students fell victim to it," said Dr. Saleh Awad Al-Garni, an expert in Islamic studies. "At that time, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry withdrew all the cologne from the market where ethyl alcohol exceeded 90 percent and methyl alcohol exceeded 50 percent."

Unfortunately, a typical result of banning a product is the creation of a black market.

"It's very sad that these people are buying the cologne to drink it," said Dr. Muayad Al-Hashmi, a general practitioner. "The Ministry of Commerce warned us about these colognes and limited sales to spray bottles. Smugglers, on the other hand, import the dangerous colognes into the Kingdom caring only about making fast money -- not about people's health.

Experts blame a variety of causes for the behavior of the young men. These include personality disorders, social and family troubles, and satellite television. I don't know, but if I lived in a hot, desert environment, I'd want a cold beer. You could blame it on my . . . uh . . . personality disorder . . . or anything you'd like. And despite flowery-pleasant breath, I'll pass on the foo-foo.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.