The latest foray into “stinkin’ thinkin’ ” by America’s teenagers has led to drinking hand sanitizer to get high.

The problem is that drinking hand sanitizer will make you ill and land you in the E.R.

A spike in the number of teenagers who became ill after drinking hand sanitizer in Los Angeles County — 16 cases in March and April, according to the California Poison Control System. Now there’s a flurry of reports from other parts of the country, too.

Hand sanitizer kills germs because it’s made with ethyl alcohol. That’s the same stuff that gives a glass of wine its pleasant buzz. I’ve never imbibed hand sanitizer, but my guess is that it lacks the complex bouquet of a good cabernet. Indeed, I’d guess that it tastes nasty.