When you hear “borg” you might think of Star Trek, but the word has been given a new meaning in the last few weeks.
A BORG, or “blackout rage gallon,” is an alcohol trend sweeping the social media platform TikTok. “#BORG” has close to 78 million views on the app.
A BORG is a gallon jug filled with a mix of alcohol and flavored water, often with some kind of electrolytes. The idea is that consuming water/electrolytes with alcohol reduces hangover effects.
But the amount of alcohol mixed into BORGs is too much to be safe, no matter what it’s mixed with. Most BORG mixes have about a fifth of alcohol, which is roughly 16 or 17 shots. This much alcohol consumed in one sitting can be fatal.
Some BORGs are also mixed with up to 1000 milligrams of caffeine (equaling the amount in about 10 cups of coffee). Caffeine makes it difficult to know how intoxicated you are, so these high amounts disrupt the drinker’s ability to regulate their state.
The challenge is increasing in popularity with college students. Boston University Student Health Services released a safety warning about BORGs on March 14 after the BORG challenge resulted in 28 ambulances being called to parties outside of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Consuming high amounts of alcohol is extremely risky, and potentially fatal for young people. Dr. George F. Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) is quoted as saying, "Quite simply, as alcohol consumption goes up, so do the risks of injuries, fights, sexual assaults, emergency department visits, blackouts, car crashes and other harms."
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