The death of a Newcastle University student from too much alcohol intake reportedly happened during a club initiation. Ed Farmer, 20, was an economics major.
Farmer was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday last week. He died on Wednesday. He was described to have consumed "an excessive amount of alcohol," which led to life-threatening conditions.
University president, Jack Taylor, noted that they were shocked about the student's death. Taylor offered his deepest condolences to the student's family. The university is also providing services for additional support to the student's friends as well as to other students who may have been affected by the tragic news.
Mirror reported that Farmer appears to have been playing drinking games when he collapsed. A student told the publication that it was part of a society initiation. Moreover, the people who were with him did not immediately realize that he had stopped breathing until it was too late.
"You have undoubtedly proved to each and every one of us that there is such a thing as 'the guy who has it all' - the intelligence, the humor, the looks and the personality," Farmer's father said in a statement. "Not many people can challenge a position like that. Thank you for all the memories."
In a report by Huffington Post UK, Drinkaware director John Larsen revealed that a lot of young people are not aware of the dangers of playing alcohol games. He admitted that "most students regard it as just a bit of harmless fun."
It was noted that initiations have been banned at universities after incidents of hospitalization and deaths of students were reported. Nonetheless, initiations are still common at several institutions.
Larsen noted, though, that there is a "growing trend" of students who are becoming more responsible with alcohol." However, excessive drinking is still quite prevalent in several social situations.
"The body can only process one unit of alcohol an hour, and less in some people," he noted. "Drink a lot in a short space of time and the amount of alcohol in the blood can stop the body from working properly."
