A young woman in the United Kingdom has had her stomach removed after ingesting liquid nitrogen which is used in flamboyant cocktails.

The young woman was out celebrating her birthday and drank the cocktail, which features a smoky effect created by the liquid nitrogen as it comes into contact with the atmosphere. Nitrogen freezes at -210 degrees Celsius. It boils as -196 degrees Celsius at atmospheric pressure. It turns out that if you drink it, you can destroy your windpipe, food tract and stomach through severe cold burns and the possibility of nitrogen exploding in your stomach as it hits the much warmer body core temperature.

In this case, the nitrogen ‘smoke’ was used as a ‘garnish’ for the cocktail, laid across the top to create the effect of dry ice. It seems that some might have lingered on the liquid’s surface, and this is what caused the damage.

Within minutes of ingesting the drink, the young woman felt violent pain in the abdomen and was immediately rushed to hospital for a life-saving operation. Doctors have already said that if they had not managed to treat her as quickly as they did, she would have died.

In Malta, we have a big cocktail and shooter culture. Kids go out every weekend and smash back drink after drink on their nights out. Forget Mojitos and Screwdrivers; kids today mix all sorts to create the ultimate party drink – with energy drinks being a firm favourite as a mixture – all with their own dangers.

But at least, the drink seems to have not made it to Malta. The official Malta Bar Tenders Group has gone on record in this newspaper stating that it would not consider using the substance in any drinks. A spokesman explained that he had seen top barmen around the world using it, but only for ‘display models’ that are not for consumption.

The case perhaps resonates with an incident where a young man, a soldier, ate a beetle as a dare when amongst his friends. What we mean is that young people often do not think about the consequences of their actions. Granted, not everyone is a chemist, doctor or wildlife expert, but surely kids really should question what they are about to get themselves into.

While we have heard that the official bar tenders group would never consider using the concoction, we have to ask what is happening in Paceville and other bars around the country. Has the Health Department looked into the issue? Or will it, if it has not yet done so? Are inspections taking place to ensure that no dangerous substances are going into drinks?

This is not like the case in the Czech Republic where people were getting sick off cheap bootleg alcohol, this is a potentially deadly substance that can kill you by exploding in your stomach if you ingest it. While we hope that there are no establishments which are serving such drinks, we appeal for the authorities to make the necessary checks. Do we really want to see young people lose their stomach through ignorance?