TikTok’s history with dangerous and sometimes deadly trends is no secret, but that doesn’t make it any less devastating when tragedy strikes. The latest instance comes courtesy of an obscure-sounding trend known as chroming, but precisely what it is or how it led to one teen’s death is far less dubious, sadly.
In the past, dangerous TikTok trends have included incel bone smashing (we wish we were kidding), walking into random houses, and fractal wood burning, to name just a few. Sure, some trending content has been innocent fun, such as the tortilla slap challenge which was both harmless and hysterical, but for every funny and inconsequential trend or challenge, there have been dozens of dangerous ones looming in the wings.
It begs the question of why TikTok continues to allow this kind of content on its platform. Then again, the fact that the chroming trend was hidden in plain sight proves that not everything on the social media app is advertised at face value.
What is the TikTok trend ‘chroming’ and how did it lead to one 13-year-old’s death?
Chroming is the inhalation of toxic chemicals or substances for the purpose of recreational drug use, according to the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. The phenomenon is not new, but thanks to TikTok’s allure, it has seen an increase in popularity. Many also know it as huffing.
Huffing — or “chroming” — occurs when someone inhales toxic chemicals such as aerosol cans, paint, glue, nail polish remover, cleaning products, nitrous oxide, hairspray, lighter fluid, solvent, permanent markers, or in the case of 13-year-old Esra Haynes, deodorants.
Haynes was participating in the chroming trend on TikTok when she went inhaled a deodorant can and went into cardiac arrest. She was rushed to the hospital, sustained irreparable brain damage, and eventually passed away.
Inhaling toxic substances such as deodorant can cause permanent brain damage, as well as damage to the liver, kidney, heart, and lungs. Users can experience seizures, heart attacks, and even long or short-term comas. According to the Journal of Drug and Alcohol Research, “long-term abuse has been associated with general cognitive impairment (memory deficits, difficulty to concentrate, etc.), decreased IQ, increased impulsivity and impaired judgment.”
Chroming exists in plain sight on TikTok under the sub-community “Whiptok,” which refers to the term whippit, the steel cylinder or cartridge filled with nitrous oxide that people either inhale directly or inject into balloons and inhale from there. There are currently over 500 million views under the Whiptok search term on TikTok. The platform sees over 1 billion active users every month according to Backlinko. In the U.S. alone, The Washington Post reports that 67% of teens prefer TikTok over any other social media platform.