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Topics: TikTok, UK News, Health, News, Social Media
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: TikTok, UK News, Health, News, Social Media
An inquest has heard that a 'sweet' 12-year-old boy lost his life as a result of partaking in an dangerous online trend.
A trend known as 'chroming' is claiming the lives of young people across the globe. The social media trend is extremely dangerous and sees youngsters 'huffing all sorts of hydrocarbons'.
It usually involves a person inhaling potentially harmful chemicals from things like a deodorant can for a quick high.
Sadly kids are losing their lives to the apparent trend, one being 11-year-old Tommie-lee Gracie Billington from Lancashire, UK, who died last year from chroming.
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Australian teenager Esra Haynes also died after chroming in 2023.
Now another young person has lost their life in the increasingly concerning online movement. Oliver Gorman, from Tameside, in was found unresponsive in his bedroom in May this year.
His mother called for an ambulance and performed CPR on the 12-year-old.
Tragically Oliver was unable to be saved.
A number of empty deodorant bottles were found in his room, and a post-mortem found he died as a result of the inhalation of butane gas – a propellant found in many aerosol deodorants.
Assistant coroner Andrew Bridgman recorded a conclusion of misadventure. He said Oliver 'must have been feeling a bit low' but that there was 'no evidence' to 'suggest he deliberately inhaled the aerosol with the intention of ending his own life'.
It's unclear how Oliver learned about chroming as police have been unable to get into the 12-year-old's personal devices.
Noting this, Bridgman said: "It strikes me that this 'Chroming' comes from TikTok challenges," adding: "When or how Oliver became aware of this recreational enjoyment, I don't know."
He also argued that warning labels on the deodorant bottles were 'inadequate.' They state that 'solvent abuse can kill instantly' but Bridgman said they were 'small' and 'lost in all the other information on the bottle', and pointed out that butane was a propellant, not a solvent.
Oliver's heartbroken mom now wants to raise awareness about the risks of chroming.
She said, per Metro Online: "We just want to raise awareness for children and parents.
"It was the speed of it. He had 20 minutes in his bedroom and he was gone.
"We don’t want any mother or father to have to do what I had to do for my boy... the CPR and mouth-to-mouth. I will never get that image out of my head."
UNILAD has approached TikTok for comment.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact The Compassionate Friends on (877) 969-0010.