Aerosol spray can.Photo:File: Getty
File: Getty
Esra Haynes was only 13 years old when she went into cardiac arrest at a slumber party at a friend’s house.
By all accounts, the Melbourne eighth grader was a healthy, athletic teen, with no preexisting conditions. She and her friends had been celebrating Haynes being named co-captain of their under-14 AFL team, a version of soccer known locally as “footy,” earlier in the day.
The cause of her heart failure? Chroming, a dangerous trend in Australia that her parents Paul and Andreasaid caused the young girlto go into cardiac arrest and suffer irreparable brain damage.
“[It was] just a regular routine of going to hang out with her mates,” her mother, Andrea, told the Australian news programA Current Affair.But while at the March 31 party, her parents say Esra inhaled chemicals from a deodorant can for a quick high, which ultimately caused her death.
Known stateside as “huffing,” chroming — sniffing and inhaling household chemicals normally stored in aerosol cans — is alarmingly on the rise in Australia because it produces quick, cheap, and easily accessible high.
Aerosol can.File: jose hernandez antona/imageBROKER/Shutterstock
File: jose hernandez antona/imageBROKER/Shutterstock
The Haynes family toldA Current Affairthat while their daughter was on life support for eight days, they met another family whose daughter was in the ICU, also for chroming.
It’s part of an alarming trend: The body of a16-year-old New South Wales girlwas found with a deodorant can and a towel last year. And aQueensland teenwas left with brain damage after chroming, her family said.
Now, the Haynes family is calling for more action from deodorant manufacturers.
“For me, it’s a pistol sitting on the shelf,” Paul said, according toThe New York Post.
“We need the manufacturers to step up and really change the formulation or the propellants.”
The Haynes family is also pushing for more education about the very real dangers of chroming.
“Esra would’ve never have done this if she’d had known the consequences. That it could take your life,“Paul said.
In the meantime, retailers in Australia are stepping up to help curb the chroming trend.
Australian chain store Colesbegan locking aerosol deodorants behind a glass case in response to the chroming trend, withWoolworthsfollowing suit earlier this month.
“Kids don’t look beyond the next day. They really don’t. Especially not knowing how it can affect them,” Paul toldA Current Affair.
“The ripple effect is that this is absolutely devastating, we’ve got no child to bring home,” Andrea said.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
source: people.com
