UAE | Crime
Accidental death exposes dark world of teenage butane abuse
Parents urge authorities to stop wild parties before more lives are lost
- XPRESS report
- Published: 00:00 July 1, 2010
Dubai: The death of 16-year-old American Anton Tahmasian, who collapsed after inhaling butane at a graduation party, has uncovered a dirty world of teenage substance abuse, where villas are rented out and youngsters put their lives at risk.
An XPRESS (Gulf News sister publication) investigation published in today's edition reveals the seamier side of teenage life.
The parents of Emma, a 14-year-old girl who is a butane addict, say the government must step in to curb this practice or more young lives will be lost.
They suspect older teens are turning such parties into money-making ventures.
"It's their way of killing boredom — to find trouble and see who gets away," said Emma's parents.
The murky goings-on at the so-called "Facebook parties" are starting to reveal the underbelly of substance abuse and casual sex by teenagers.
Emma told XPRESS: "Every Thursday there are two or three such parties. Organisers charge entrants between Dh40 and Dh90..."
"I've tried butane and I don't even like it, but I had to in order to be ‘in'. I could fall from a building without feeling anything," she said.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ahmad Humaid Al Merri, Director of the Criminal Investigations Division of Dubai Police, said they had received no prior reports of butane abuse among teens until the Tahmasian case hit the headlines.
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