An 11-year-old boy lost his life after participating in a dangerous social media challenge known as 'chroming' in Lancaster, United Kingdom.
The minor boy identified as Tommie-Lee Gracie Billington was at a friend's house when they attempted the challenge, involving the inhalation of toxic fumes from household products like paint thinners and cleaning supplies to achieve a high.
The Times reports that Tommie-Lee succumbed to the severe health risks associated with chroming, including the possibility of cardiac arrest.
The family of the deceased has called on social media platforms to implement more strict measures in order to protect children from such trends.
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Tina Burns, Tommie-Lee's grandmother, shared her opinion that social media companies should be responsible and possibly even shut down to avoid similar dangerous incidents.
Burns told The Times, "He died instantly after a sleepover at a friend's house. The boys had tried the TikTok craze of 'chroming'."
His grandmother further informed the media outlet that her grandson suffered a cardiac arrest immediately and died right there and then. "The hospital did everything to try and bring him back, but nothing worked. He was gone," she said.
"He had a heart of gold, just like his dad. Our family is utterly devastated," she added.
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What is the popular trend 'Chroming' ?
The 'chroming' challenge involves breathing in harmful fumes. This social media trend has gained popularity among teenagers, who sniff aerosol cans, detergent, paint thinner, and other solvents for a quick high.
Mostly taken up by teenagers and young adults in their early twenties, this online trend is risky.
According to the Hindustan Times, a report from 2017 called ‘Understanding Adolescent Inhalant Use’ revealed that around 684,000 teenagers were already engaging in the dangerous habit of inhaling or sniffing chemicals.
It's crucial for everyone, especially parents, to be aware of these risks and educate young people about the dangers of such trends.
HT quoted Toxicology specialist Anthony Pizon MD explaining chroming as "a variation of an old theme of huffing all sorts of hydrocarbons.”
He also pointed out that individuals have been engaging in the inhalation of metallic paints for a significant period of time. It seems as though this activity has been recently brought to attention and given a new identity on the internet.
The social media trend presumably borrows its name from the "chrome-like shiny appearance" of metallic paints containing these hydrocarbons.
