School Warns Parents: Potentially Deadly 'Choking Game' Is Making A Comeback

MILFORD (WWJ) -- Parents are being warned about a dangerous "game" played by students that is making a comeback.

A letter from the principal at Muir Middle School in the Huron Valley School District to parents says the "choking game" is making a resurgence across the country, mainly through social media.

In the choking game -- which is also commonly known as "pass out," "tap out," "hangman," and "elevator" -- students deprive themselves of oxygen in order to achieve a "natural high." But it often causes them to faint and can lead to brain damage and even death.

The principal wants parents to talk with their kids about the dangers of the choking game. He's also putting together a team to talk about the game at school.

"I am hopeful we can bring awareness to this issue and work together to discourage the behavior at home and in school," Daniel Hurst said in the letter.

Kim Root, spokeswoman for Huron Valley Schools, told WWJ Newsradio 950 they had two confirmed reports.

"We know that if there are two that are reported that we know about that it's probably happening in our school buildings and in places we don't know about," Root said. "Kids are probably experimenting at home as well."

Root said that the students involved are OK and that school officials are talking to kids in classrooms about the issue.

In 2010, an 11-year-old Westland boy died while playing the game. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the game likely caused 82 deaths among children ages six to 19 between the years 1995 and 2007; Of these deaths, 81 were male.