'Chroming' Videos on TikTok Are Concerning Health Experts – Here's Why

They say there's nothing new under the sun, and most TikTok trends are no exception, as users repackage old fads into shiny Gen Z and Gen Alpha friendly packages. One thing that is currently causing concern among child health experts is the practice of “chroming” – also known as “huffing.”

Chrome plating involves inhaling toxic fumes from household items – for example nail polish, deodorant spray and markers. When Millennials were kids, they were more likely to be warned about the dangers of sniffing or huffing glue, but they're all one and the same.

It's not unlike how people abuse nitrous oxide, which is usually inhaled from small silver canisters called “whippits”; This continues to be a popular recreational drug, and there is no shortage of related online content. What all of these inhalants have in common is that they are easily accessible. Most homes are full of cleaning products and other chemicals that could be abused in this way, and nitrous oxide canisters can be purchased for a number of legitimate uses, such as in the hospitality industry.

“What's particularly concerning about chrome plating is that it uses everyday household items that are easily accessible to teenagers,” Keerthi Krishna, a research associate at Cohen's Children's Medical Center and lead author of a new study on the topic, reiterated in a statement. “The covert nature of these elements means that parents and teachers are less likely to notice the behavior, significantly increasing the risk of repeat use and addiction in young people.”

Concerned that trending TikTok videos might encourage children to engage in this risky behavior, Krishna and co-authors analyzed 109 videos about chroming that had garnered a total of 25 million views on the platform. They collected data about the creators who made the videos and the behavior the videos depicted (it's worth noting that at the time of writing, when you search for the term “chroming” on TikTok, you get a warning about the dangers of drug abuse). .

The most common items used for chrome plating in these TikToks were marker pens, appearing in 31 percent of the videos. Compressed air cans for dusting came in second place at 17 percent, followed by nail polish at 12 percent.

The researchers estimated that 39 percent of the videos' creators were underage. Most videos, 70 percent, were considered memes – following a trending format that was circulating on the platform – and 52 percent referenced addiction or repeated use.

“Our findings highlight the urgent need for increased moderation efforts by social media platforms like TikTok to stop the spread of chroming content,” they write in their abstract, presented at a recent conference. “A worrying number of creators were underage, highlighting the vulnerability of children who engage in harmful behavior.”

Earlier this year, the death of an 11-year-old British boy attracted widespread attention after family members blamed chroming videos he allegedly saw online. In March 2023, a 13-year-old girl from Melbourne, Australia died after inhaling aerosolized deodorant, with her parents again citing chroming. But the risks of chroming were well documented long before it even became a social media fad.

As McGill University's Office of Science and Society explains, the high caused by plating or sniffing is “similar to the effects of alcohol” – although they can be more short-lived and vary depending on the substance being snorted. However, the long-term effects can be much more extensive, leading to heart failure, liver damage and destruction of the myelin sheath, the protective layer around nerve fibers.

TikTok consistently tops mobile app popularity rankings, but this isn't the first time questions have been raised about the potential health risks of being influenced by certain videos on the platform. As the study authors point out, “The high prevalence of chroming memes continues their normalization among youth, which may lead individuals to view chroming as a 'safer' and more socially acceptable alternative to traditional drugs.”

Chroming itself is nothing new – but the speed at which trending content can now spread online among young people clearly makes this a 21st century phenomenon^st problem of the century.

The research was presented at the 2024 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition.