Topline
An 11-year-old boy in the U.K. died last week after inhaling toxic chemicals, and a social media trend called “chroming,” which is a practice experts warn can lead to health issues like brain damage, cardiac arrest and even death, is being blamed.
Key Facts
Chroming involves inhaling dangerous chemicals and substances like nail polish remover, hairspray, aerosol deodorant, lighter fluid, gasoline, paint thinners, spray paint and permanent markers as a form of recreational drug use, according to the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne.
Breathing in these inhalants in highly concentrated mixtures can create a brief “euphoric effect,” but it’s “dangerous” and can also lead to dizziness, vomiting, cardiac failure and brain damage, according to the American Addiction Centers.
Long-term effects of inhaling toxic substances can lead to memory loss, a lower IQ, an inability to concentrate and impaired judgment, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Research.
A more widely known version of chroming involves inhaling “whippits,” (also called “laughing gas” and “hippy crack”) a slang term for cartridges filled with nitrous oxide that’s legally used to inflate balloons, though inhaling these cartridges is illegal.
Big Number
684,000. That’s how many adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 huffed or inhaled toxic chemicals in 2015, according to a 2017 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. A total of 1.8 million people 12 years and older performed the practice that same year, though inhalant use typically decreases with age.
Key Background
Tommie-Lee Gracie Billington, 11, was found dead in a friend’s house on March 2 in the United Kingdom, according to a report by The Times of London. Billington suffered a suspected cardiac arrest after his grandmother, Tina Burns, reportedly said he participated in the “TikTok craze ‘chroming’” during a sleepover, though local police said his death is currently unexplained. “I will make sure to the best of my ability that your name and your beautiful face will become the reason that other children’s lives will be saved and other families don’t have to suffer this deep, deep hurt,” Burns said in a Facebook post. TikTok has barred search results appearing for “chroming challenge,” though chroming videos appear to have been posted on the platform in February, with at least one surpassing 700,000 views, according to Yahoo News, and the practice has appeared on other social media platforms. Chroming has led to the death of at least one other adolescent in recent years. Australian teenager Esra Haynes went into cardiac arrest at a friend’s sleepover after participating in the chroming challenge in March 2023. Haynes inhaled chemicals from an aerosol deodorant can, which resulted in her being on life support for eight days and caused severe brain damage. Haynes’s family decided to remove her off life support and she later died.
Tangent
Another name for chroming is huffing, which also involves using inhalants as a recreational drug. Inhalants are common household products that produce chemical vapors and are inhaled to create mind-altering or psychoactive effects, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Around one-in-five kids have used inhalants by the eighth grade, the DEA reports. When inhaled, these chemicals are absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream, and can make their way into other organs. Inhalants can cause cognitive abnormalities ranging from mild impairment to severe dementia. Regular inhalant use is associated with high rates of depression, anxiety and other substance abuse issues, according to the Australia-based Alcohol and Drug Foundation. This doesn’t necessarily mean inhalants cause these disorders, but that use can bring them on or make them worse. People who regularly use inhalants are also more likely to experience stressful events, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
Further Reading
13-Year-Old Australian Girl Dies from Dangerous ‘Chroming’ Trend (People)
Boy, 11, dies after attempting TikTok ‘chroming’ challenge (The Times of London)
