A 13-year-old girl in Melbourne lost her life while trying to attempt a social media trend called "chroming". The family members of the teenager have called for action to stop any more such deaths.
Esra Haynes took part in the social media trend chroming. Chroming involves people inhaling substances like petrol, metallic paints, chemicals from aerosol cans and solvents to experience a quick high.
The incident took place when the teenager had gone for a sleepover on March 31, as reported by News.com.au.
A deodorant may have been used by Esra, according to reports.
The girl suffered a cardiac arrest. She was put on life support for eight days. Doctors said her brain "was damaged beyond repair”. After this, her family took the tough decision of turning off life support machines.
The parents of the teenager, Paul and Andrea Haynes, and her older siblings Imogen, Seth and Charlie “cuddled her until the end”, reported the Australian media outlet.
Increasing cases of “chroming”
This is not the first time Australian teenagers have fallen victim to “chroming”.
In 2019, two 16-year-old boys were killed after they participated in the trend. Another teenage girl had lost her life after she suffered brain damage due to chroming.
After the death of Esra, the Victorian Education Department stated that efforts are being made to provide children with more knowledge about chroming as well as its deadly side effects.
Parents speak out against chroming trend
The parents of the deceased teenager are aiming to increase awareness about such dangerous social media trends.
They stated that they were unaware of “chroming” until they received a call which informed them that their daughter has been rushed to hospital.
The parents are appealing to children and teenagers to avoid repeating the same mistakes which were made by their daughter.
“We want to help other children not fall into the silly trap of doing this silly thing. It’s unquestionable that this will be our crusade,” Paul Haynes said while speaking to the Herald Sun.
“No matter how much you lead a horse to water, anyone can drag them away. It’s not something she would have done on her own,” he added.
The parents have further appealed for making cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR a compulsory lesson in schools, and also demanded the deodorant formula be made less toxic and more safer.
The American Addiction Centres stated chroming is more popular among younger people who don't have access to other drugs.