What is Chroming, a viral TikTok trend claiming lives of kids worldwide?
Represenative image of 'Chroming challenge'
An 11-year-old UK boy reportedly died while performing a fatal TikTok challenge at a friend’s house.
According to the family of the boy, he had tried the TikTok craze of 'chroming.' Tommie-Lee immediately suffered a cardiac arrest, leading to his death at the moment. “The hospital did everything to try and bring him back, but nothing worked. He was gone," said the boy's grandmother.
What is Chroming?
Chroming is a risky activity where people breathe in dangerous household items like nail polish remover, hairspray, and spray paint. This can make them feel happy for a short time, but it's considered very hazardous. It can make them feel dizzy, and sick, or even damage their heart and brain.
When these chemicals are breathed in, they go into the body through the lungs and can harm different parts of the body. Breathing in these things can make people's thinking and memory worse, and can even cause serious problems like depression and anxiety.
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The cognitive abnormalities caused by inhalants range 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 Alcohol and Drug Foundation based in Australia.
Another way people do chroming is by breathing in "whippets," which are small containers filled with laughing gas. Although these cartridges are legally used to inflate balloons, using them to get high is illegal and can be dangerous.
Not a new trend
The trend is not new; however, it is gaining popularity of late. As per a 2017 report, titled ‘Understanding Adolescent Inhalant Use’, about 684,000 adolescents followed the toxic practice of huffing or sniffing chemicals.
Most followers of this trend are teenagers or young adultsin their early 20s.
Experts believe one reason for the insane popularity of the fatal trend is the easy availability of these resources, like metallic paints or deodorants, as compared to other drugs or illicit substances.