11-Year-Old Dies Trying ‘Chroming’ TikTok Challenge: What Parents Need to Know
By Movieguide® Contributor
An 11-year-old boy died from cardiac arrest after taking part in a TikTok challenge called “chroming.”
Tommie-Lee Gracie Billington went into cardiac arrest on March 2 and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
“He died instantly after a sleepover at a friend’s house,” Tommie-Lee’s grandmother, Tina Burns, said. “The boys had tried the TikTok craze ‘chroming.’ Tommie-Lee went into 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 continued, “He had a heart of gold just like his dad. Our family is utterly devastated.”
Chroming, also called “huffing,” is “the act of inhaling the fumes of household chemicals such as nail polish remover, hairspray, aerosol deodorant or permanent markers,” per CTV News.
Inhaling chemical fumes is not new, but it has gained attention through the number of TikToks discussing chroming.
According to Forbes, 684,000 “adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 huffed or inhaled toxic chemicals in 2015, according to a 2017 report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.”
“A total of 1.8 million people 12 years and older performed the practice that same year, though inhalant use typically decreases with age,” they continued.
Burns is now calling for social media platforms to “do more” when it comes to regulating the content posted on their sites.
“We don’t want any other children to follow TikTok or be on social media,” she said.
Movieguide® previously reported on the death of another young person who passed away after taking part in a TikTok challenge:
Tawainna Anderson recently sued the social media giant TikTok over the death of her 10-year-old daughter, Nylah.
After watching TikTok, which boasts over 1 billion users, Nylah imitated a “Blackout Challenge,” going viral on the app.
According to the lawsuit, Nylah hung herself in her mother’s closet, mimicking the videos on TikTok. Although Anderson performed CPR and got her daughter to the hospital, Nylah died five days later.
“I cannot stop replaying that day in my head,” Anderson said at a recent news conference.
She added: “It is time that these dangerous challenges come to an end so that other families don’t experience the heartbreak we live every day.”
Anderson filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania and claimed that TikTok and its parent company ByteDance’s app is “predatory and manipulative.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
