YLC considers campaign after woman’s death
The Yukon Liquor Corp. (YLC)
The Yukon Liquor Corp. (YLC) should develop an initiative that addresses the dangers of drinking alcohol during the winter months, says the territory’s chief coroner.
The recommendation comes as part of coroner Kirsten Macdonald’s investigation into the death of Whitehorse resident Karen Stutzman last December.
It’s a suggestion the liquor corporation says it will consider.
Stutzman, 50, was found lying in the snow on the morning of Dec. 2, 2014, about 300 metres from her home in the Northland Park mobile home subdivision.
Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at Whitehorse General Hospital.
Macdonald determined that Stutzman’s cause of death was hypothermia.
She was also intoxicated. Toxicology testing showed her blood-alcohol content was 0.22 per cent.
In her report, completed Feb. 17 and posted online this week, Macdonald states that Stutzman made debit transactions at the Gold Pan Saloon on the night of Dec. 1.
The last one was made at 10:07 p.m.
“It is believed Ms. Stutzman took a taxi home sometime after that last transaction,” Macdonald writes.
Stutzman was found the next day at 7:20 a.m. by a woman walking her dog.
Her body temperature was very low, at 22.3 C. Despite “extensive medical intervention,” it rose only to 23 C.
The temperature overnight was about -25 C.
In her report, Macdonald recommends the liquor corporation implement “an ongoing, annual social responsibility initiative which specifically addresses the dangers of consuming alcohol in a cold weather environment and which supports responsible consumption during the cold winter months.”
This could prevent future deaths, she writes.
Spokesman Tim Sellars said this morning the liquor corporation will consider this when developing future campaigns.
It hasn’t focused on this issue in its initiatives previously, though it has targeted drinking and driving, underage drinking, and drinking while pregnant, he said.
Comments (10)
Up 7 Down 3
yukon56 on Mar 14, 2015 at 9:17 pm
Sad situation but we, as society must be accountable for individual actions
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north_of_60 on Mar 14, 2015 at 2:33 pm
@GdN
Alcohol abuse can be significantly reduced or even stopped, but it would mean placing the rights of society above the rights of the individual to kill themselves slowly. There are drugs which make a person nauseous if they consume more than a small amount of alcohol; not enough to become impaired.
Make receipt of any government benefits conditional on 'getting their shots' on schedule. Place the unavailable benefits in a trust fund which they can access when they get their shots and stay sober. Learning personal responsibility is essential for successful recovery from any addiction.
We need more effective and viable substance abuse detox facilities located near Whitehorse in the bush year round, not downtown.
Or we could do very little except make excuses for people's behaviour, and continue to send the message that those who kill themselves with substance abuse are no big loss to society. We should do better than that.
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Groucho d'North on Mar 13, 2015 at 6:17 pm
So if the popular view is that promotional campaigns are a waste of taxpayer money and they do not deliver the expected results, how would you suggest this dangerous behaviour is reduced or even stopped? While we’re at it, what do you think will encourage people to not drink and drive?
Don’t just criticize, offer an alternative solution. Don’t be shy either.
Up 18 Down 2
now outside on Mar 11, 2015 at 2:56 pm
Public campaign? This happens in southern Ontario. There has been billions spent on the danger of DUI and how's that worked out?
Up 49 Down 1
north_of_60 on Mar 11, 2015 at 12:58 pm
People who get that drunk pay no attention to public service ads. Such 'initiatives' are merely paying 'lip service' and don't address the problem.
Instead of wasting more money on marketing companies, spend it on a viable addictions treatment program.
Up 36 Down 4
Garbage in Garbage out on Mar 11, 2015 at 12:45 pm
Ongoing social responsibility campaign? I can't wait to see how many millions Mark H. will pump into this sink hole so he can claim glory. The difficulty is that "success" of this campaign will be extremely difficult to prove, given the very small Yukon population and the tiny number of individuals that die due to drinking and hypothermia.
Up 42 Down 5
June Jackson on Mar 10, 2015 at 7:20 pm
A few years ago a man froze to death on the back step of #1 Hospital Road. He was not intoxicated. He was out at -30 without proper clothing. A few years ago a woman put her dog out in the middle of the night and sat down on the steps to wait.. and froze to death. She wasn't intoxicated either. My point is, people know the dangers of living here and make bad choices. YLC can develop initiatives out the wazoo but when people don't wear proper shoes or boots they risk injury on the icy sidewalks and roads, when they go out at night where there is little traffic, no one to see them in need..they risk frost burn, hypothermia and death. I am sorry for yet another death, but who was going to stop her from going out? Drinking? Taking a taxi home? Getting out of that taxi so far from her home? Well.. we can't.. but we can be our brother's keeper...
My personal opinion? The taxi driver picked her up at a bar, he had to have known she was drinking. He should have waited until she got inside her door before driving off. Rest in Peace Karen.
Up 43 Down 4
Rob on Mar 10, 2015 at 5:21 pm
I certainly don't put any blame on the taxi driver (if there was one in this case), but I managed a bar for many years in Ontario and we always asked the taxi drivers to stay for a moment and confirm that both intoxicated people and women traveling alone safely entered their homes. I think that if the local taxi companies tried to adopt this policy it would not only make the community safer but would be a great PR move.
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What the levels mean. on Mar 10, 2015 at 5:13 pm
FYI
"The measurement of intoxication for the purposes of medical treatment or for legal purposes is that the Blood Alcohol Content or BAC. The measurement in the United States is one gram of alcohol to a decilitre of blood. This figure is different for other countries. So, the question here is what is the alcohol poisoning BAC level?
First of all, it has to be pointed out that if people are affected in different ways by the consumption of alcohol.
Alcohol Poisoning BAC - Over the Limit poisoning in one person may not be the same blood alcohol content that will cause poisoning in another person. This is why BAC is generally measured either using a breathalyser or blood test. It is very inaccurate to try and measure the blood alcohol content purely by the amount of alcohol that has been drunk because of variations in sex, weight, and body fat.[i]
Things start getting out of control once the blood alcohol content reaches 0.10 -0.15. At this stage, there will be a loss of judgement, significant decrease in motor coordination skills, slurring speech, impaired vision, balance, hearing, and reaction. In the latter part of this scale, euphoria is going to be reduced and anxiety increased.
Between 0.16 and 0.20 BAC, the drinker may start to feel noxious, confused, dazed, and significantly more disorientated. This is when it starts to get dangerous and the gagging reflex may be inhibited in some people.
A blood alcohol level of over 0.30 is when the drinker will have definitely gone into a stupor. They may pass out and not respond to any attempts to awaken. They will basically have little comprehension of who they are, where they are, or how much danger they are in. At this stage, the person is definitely suffering from alcohol poisoning. If there is more alcohol waiting in the body to be processed, there is a danger that the levels could reach 0.40 or more. This is when a serious threat of death exists."
Up 43 Down 7
Thomas Brewer on Mar 10, 2015 at 3:45 pm
Does the government really need to coddle us in all aspects of our lives?
Adults+bad decisions=consequences. Deal with it.