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	A TEENAGE boy is in a serious condition in hospital today after taking part in what&rsquo;s known as the &lsquo;choking game&rsquo;.</h2>
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		The boy, who is in his early teens, was rushed to hospital in an unconscious and critical condition.</p>
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		It later emerged he had been involved in a &#39;choking game&#39;, which is sometimes practiced by children aged between 11 and 16 years of age.</p>
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		It occurs when a person or a friend puts pressure on their throat until they nearly pass out.</p>
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		More than 80 people have died in the US as result of the practice.</p>
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		Today, doctors issued a warning of the dangers surrounding the practice.</p>
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		The warning was issued as the schoolboy remains seriously ill in a Dublin paediatric hospital.</p>
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		Medics are warning the &lsquo;game&rsquo; could lead to irreversible brain damage, or in some cases, death.</p>
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		A warning was first issued by health authorities here in 2010.</p>
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		It came after an American organisation highlighted the dangers of the &lsquo;choking game&rsquo; which is thought to have spread to&nbsp;<a href="http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/United_Kingdom" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;">Britain</a>&nbsp;at the time. This prompted the Irish health authorities to issue a similar warning.</p>
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		Staff at America&rsquo;s Connect With Kids said parents, teachers and teenagers should be aware of the risks posed by &quot;the choking game&quot;, which is thought to have claimed the lives of a number of American children in 2010.</p>
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		The organisation issued the warning after an inquest heard how a 13-year-boy from Essex, England, died while apparently playing the &quot;game&quot;.</p>
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		Teenagers apparently play the game in order to restrict oxygen to their brains and &quot;get a high&quot;.</p>
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		<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/teen-boy-in-a-serious-condition-following-choking-game-29649462.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/teen-boy-in-a-serious-condition-following-choking-game-29649462.html</a></p>
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