Megan Craig-Wilkinson, 16 years old, died in her sleep after she drank a bottle of Frosty Jack’s cider, Mirror reports.
The incident happened when Megan went to her first huge New Year party with friends. She reportedly tried the cider, which is also known as the “the cheapest boozed on sale in the UK,” and died after a few hours.
According to advocates who are against the sale of the cider, a three-liter bottle of Frosty Jack’s actually contains the equivalent of 22 shots of vodka.
Megan’s mom, Joanne Good, discovered Megan’s lifeless body in bed the morning after the party. When her daughter came home, Joanne decided to stay with her until she had fallen asleep. She even positioned her for recovery. Joanne, however, didn’t know that Megan managed to consume so much alcohol.
Megan died due to pulmonary aspiration. Called “dry drowning,” Megan’s stomach emptied itself and pushed out all of the contents into her lungs.
Joanne, who’s 38 years old, said, “I never knew that level of alcohol per volume was available. knew that Megan was at her friend’s house for the party - she had been there before, so I knew she was in a safe environment.
“At the party, there was a three litre bottle of Frosty Jack’s. Megan had around half of it over a period of four or five hours. She was due to stay out overnight but came back home just before midnight because she was feeling sick.
“She was still texting her friends Happy New Year, and I went up to bed with her to make sure she was settled. I stayed with her and I did notice she was trying to lie on her back when she was half asleep so I put her in the recovery position.”
Joanne had other three kids: Aidan, Amelia, and Hannah. She’s married to Michael, Megan’s stepfather. She’s planning to lobby for a stricter regulation when it comes to pocket-money booze prices.
The party happened in New Year’s Eve 2013. Megan died on January 1, 2014.
Joanne explained, “I want to make them aware because these drinks are clearly something kids get access to.”
She continued, “Teenagers and young adults need to know how dangerous it can be. You see them buying it or looking for it in corner shops. It has been going on for generations. Under 18s are not supposed to buy it, but they do get their hands on it and it is so dangerous.”
According to Mirror, Megan aspired to become a history teacher. Since she was excelling in her GCSE studies at Cramlington Learning Village, her aspiration was something that she could definitely realize.
Joanne said, “I hope that people will read this or hear her story and think ‘what about that girl?’ when they see this drink on sale in the shops.
“Megan is giving me the energy to go ahead and do this. She was totally unique, a one-off, not the typical 16-year-old - she would go out to the shops in her onesie, with her hair up, she did not worry about how people perceived her, as long as she was happy in herself, that was all that mattered.”
Joanne will talk to politicians in the UK’s House of Commons as a guest of the Balance, the North East Alcohol Office. Research had shown that the cheapness or affordability of alcohol had been a growing concern among the citizens.
The bottles were prices low enough for teenagers and young adults to purchase them without suffering a great financial strain.
A spokesperson for Aston Manor said, “We’re ready and willing to work with all interested parties to seek effective solutions to what is often a complex problem.
“As a drinks producer, we cannot control retail prices. We are also not present at the point of purchase so cannot control who alcohol is sold to, but we recognize the consistent downward trend in under-aged consumption.
"Any form of alcohol is capable of being misused. We believe it is unfair to level unwarranted criticism at specific brands. For a product like Frosty Jack’s, there is a great deal of mythology in terms of its consumer base and occasions when enjoyed."
Most buyers of Frosty Jack’s are middle-aged men. Although that doesn’t really refute the fact that teenagers can still get their hands on them.
