A photograph of Leah Betts in a coma.

Leah Betts (November 11, 1977 - November 16, 1995) was a schoolgirl from Latchingdon in Essex, England. She is notable for the extensive media coverage and moral panic that followed her death several days after her 18th birthday, on November 11, during which she took an ecstasy tablet, then collapsed four hours later into a coma, from which she did not recover. Subsequently, it was discovered that water intoxication while using ecstasy, was the cause of her death. Leah Betts, famous image used in UK anti-drug campaign, presumed fair use. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the county of Essex in England. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... A moral panic is a reaction by a group of people based on the false or exaggerated perception that some cultural behavior or group, frequently a minority group or a subculture, is dangerously deviant and poses a menace to society. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine), most commonly known today by the street name ecstasy, (often abbreviated to E, X, or XTC) is a semisynthetic entactogen of the phenethylamine family. ... In medicine, a coma (from the Greek koma, meaning deep sleep) is a profound state of unconsciousness. ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ...

Press reaction

The press was quick to report that Leah's death was an example of the dangers of illegal drugs in general, and ecstasy in particular.^[1] Leah was from a quite ordinary family, with her father an ex-police officer and her mother a nurse. The fact that she was so ordinary may have contributed to the sense of shock around the country. It was suggested that the pill she had taken was from a "contaminated batch."^[2] Not long afterwards, a major 1,500-site poster campaign used a photograph of a smiling Leah Betts (i.e. not the picture of her on her deathbed, as some sources erroneously claim) with the caption Sorted: Just one ecstasy tablet took Leah Betts. Critics of the anti-drug media have suggested that the reportings of Betts' death downplayed or ignored the fact that she had drunk copiously excessive amounts of water, reducing the awareness of the dangers of water intoxication and in turn leading to higher risks for those who would use ecstasy. Retail selling Street selling is the bottom of the chain and can be accomplished through purchasing from prostitutes, through cloaked retail stores or refuse houses for users in the act located in red-light districts which often also deal in paraphernalia, dealers marketing merriment at night clubs and other events... MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine), most commonly known today by the street name ecstasy, (often abbreviated to E, X, or XTC) is a semisynthetic entactogen of the phenethylamine family. ...

The inquest

An inquest determined that her death was actually not directly due to ecstasy consumption, but rather the large quantity of water she had consumed, apparently in observation of an advisory warning commonly given to ravers to drink water to avoid dehydration resulting from the exertion of dancing continuously for hours. Leah had been at home with friends and had not been dancing, yet consumed about 7 litres in less than 90 minutes, resulting in water intoxication and hyponatremia (a dilution of the blood, disrupting sodium levels), which in turn led to serious swelling of the brain (cerebral edema), irreparably damaging it. However, SIADH caused by the ecstasy left Betts unable to urinate which would have allowed expulsion of the excess water and prevented hyponatremia. At the inquest it was stated "If Leah had taken the drug alone she might well have survived. If she had drunk the amount of water alone she would have survived."[1] Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... This article is about a form of party. ... Dehydration (hypohydration) is the removal of water (hydro in ancient Greek) from an object. ... Information in this article or section has not been verified against sources and may not be reliable. ... The electrolyte disturbance hyponatremia or hyponatraemia exists in humans when the sodium level in the plasma falls below 135 mmol/l. ... General Name, Symbol, Number sodium, Na, 11 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 3, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 22. ... Cerebral edema is swelling of the brain which can occur as the result of a head injury, cardiac arrest or from the lack of proper altitude acclimatization. ... The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) is a condition commonly found in the hospital population, especially in patients being hospitalized for central nervous system (CNS) injury. ... The electrolyte disturbance hyponatremia or hyponatraemia exists in humans when the sodium level in the plasma falls below 135 mmol/l. ...

Police response

Essex Police assigned 35 officers and huge resources to tracking the suppliers of the tablet Leah had taken, but after an estimated cost of £300,000, the only people convicted were three of her friends, two of whom were cautioned, while the third received a conditional discharge. A fourth friend was acquitted after a retrial.^[3] Essex Police is a Home Office (territorial) police force with responsibility for policing the county of Essex in south east England. ... A police caution is an alternative to prosecution available to be administered by the police in the United Kingdom. ... In Canada, a conditional discharge is a sentence passed in criminal court in which an individual is found guilty of an offence but is deemed not to have been convicted. ...

Subsequent events

The media onslaught after her death focused heavily on the putative fact that it was the first time she had taken the drug.^[4] It arose later - though it was much less publicised - that she had taken the drug at least three times previously. Her father, Paul, subsequently became a vocal public campaigner against drug abuse. He and his wife were present at the press conference at which Barry Legg MP launched his Public Entertainments Licences (Drug Misuse) Act, which allowed councils to close down licensed venues if the police "believed" controlled drugs were being used "at or near" the premises.^[5]

It later emerged that the Sorted posters had been the work of three advertising companies: Booth Lockett and Makin (media buyers), Knight Leech and Delaney (advertising agency), and FFI (youth marketing consultants), which split the cost of what would have been a £1 million campaign between themselves, yet it has been claimed that their motives were hardly altruistic. Booth Lockett and Makin counted brewers Löwenbräu as one of its major clients, at a time when the alcohol industry saw increasing ecstasy use as a threat to profits. The other two companies represented energy drink Red Bull, earning Knight Leech and Delaney £5 million, while one of FFI's executives remarked that, "We do PR for Red Bull for example and we do a lot of clubs. It's very popular at the moment because it's a substitute for taking ecstasy."^[6][7] Löwenbräu can Löwenbräu is a brewery in Munich that produces a traditional Munich-style beer. ... A variety of energy drinks are available; the skinny bullet can shape is popular. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

References

1. ^ Altered State, Matthew Collin, 2nd edition 1998, page 300
2. ^ BBC On This Day, 13 Nov, 1995
3. ^ Altered State, Matthew Collin, 2nd edition 1998, pages 302-303
4. ^ Altered State, Matthew Collin, 2nd edition 1998, page 302
5. ^ Altered State, Matthew Collin, 2nd edition 1998, page 309
6. ^ Ecstasy Reconsidered, Nicholas Saunders, 1997, pages 25-26
7. ^ Altered State, Matthew Collin, 2nd edition 1998, page 302

See also

• Rachel Whitear
• Anna Wood
• Recreational drug use
• War on drugs
• Overdose
• Responsible drug use

A school photograph of Rachel. ... Anna Wood was a schoolgirl from Sydney, Australia, who died at the age of 15 on October 24, 1995 at Royal North Shore Hospital, St. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Massive mark-ups for drugs, [http://www. ... A drug overdose occurs when a chemical substance (i. ... The concept of responsible drug use is that a person can use drugs with reduced or eliminated risk of negatively affecting other parts of ones life or other peoples lives. ...

External links

• Her best friend talks to the Observer 10 years on
• TheDEA.org: Hyponatremia. An account of Leah Betts's death with some discussion of the medical mechanisms of hyponatremia-induced brain death.