What is chroming? The viral TikTok challenge that is responsible for causing at least two deaths till now

A TikTok challenge called chroming has taken at least two lives as. 13-year-old Esra Haynes from Australia and 14-year-old Sarah Mescall from Dublin have unfortunately lost their lives trying to replicate the viral social media challenge.

So what exactly is chroming? The term refers to the act of inhaling toxic fumes originating from harmful substances that are capable of giving you a temporary high.

These substances may include chrome-based paints (from where the word has been derived), aerosol cans, spray deodorants, permanent markers, shoe polish, gasoline, nail polish removers, solvents, glue, hair spray, and nitrous oxide.

All videos performed under this name are hashtagged as 'WhipTok’ which loosely translates to the casual usage of nitrous oxide.

This is not the first time that someone has lost their life trying to copy a social media trend. A teenager from Massachusetts recently died after taking part in the viral TikTok "One Chip Challenge" which involves the consumption of a corn chip covered in a layer of Carolina Reaper pepper and Naga Viper pepper.

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How did Esra Haynes and Sarah Mescall die after taking part in the chroming challenge?

Two teenagers recently lost their lives trying to take part in the chroming challenge (Image via freepik)

Two young teenagers lost their lives trying to imitate the infamous viral TikTok challenge.

According to the reports published by the Sun, Haynes suffered a cardiac arrest along with life-altering brain damage after sniffing on an aerosol deodorant. After being hospitalized for at least a week, she unfortunately succumbed to her condition and passed away.

On the other hand, Mescall had collapsed after taking part in the challenge following which she had to be hospitalised. She also had to be put into a medically induced coma. Unfortunately, she did not make it and was pronounced dead three days after her admission to the hospital.

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In recent years, with the advent of trends on social media platforms, particularly TikTok, have seen several instances of people getting in danger trying to take part whenever a specific trend rises to prominence. This has resulted in several mishaps, sometimes even leading to death.

Following these incidences, it is crucial that steps need to be taken to scrutinise the content available on these platforms. In case of any discrepancies within the same, the said content should be removed from these platforms immediately.