What Is Chroming? Here’s What Parents Need to Know About the Dangerous TikTok Trend

TikTok is filled with questionable food and health posts, but one disturbing trend has caused a company to pull its product from shelves. It’s called “chroming” and it’s the latest term for huffing. 

With chroming, teens are using ordinary food products like whipped cream to get high. The company Galaxy Gas, which sells canisters of nitrous oxide to help turn liquid cream into foam for drinks and desserts, has pulled products from its website after videos of young people inhaling the gas made the rounds on social media. The company now has a disclaimer online stating that “intentional misuse or inhalation of contents is prohibited and poses a serious health hazard.”

However the misuse of Galaxy Gas is part of a larger issue with inhalants. A recent study found that younger people are trying to get high off of permanent markers, air dusters, nail polish, and more household items. A scientific article published in the British Medical Journal in 2022 also warned that doctors have been seeing an uptick in people suffering health complications after abusing nitrous oxide. 

Some governments have responded: In New York, for example, it’s illegal for people under the age of 21 to purchase chargers used to dispense whipped cream. It’s also now illegal in the UK to possess nitrous oxide.

But what is chroming and why is it dangerous? Doctors break it down. 

What is chroming, and how is whipped cream involved?

At baseline, chroming is the practice of inhaling chemicals found in common household products to get high, explains Ansley Schulte, MD, pediatric medical director at KidsPeace. “Because the products used, such as whipped cream canisters or hairspray, are cheap and easy to find around the house, teens are especially vulnerable,” she says.  

Whipped cream canisters contain nitrous oxide, aka laughing gas, as the whipping agent, Schulte explains. “These are commonly misused by inhaling the nitrous oxide gas out of the canister to create a high,” she says. “Though nitrous oxide is safe when used as intended, its inhaled use outside of a medical setting is very dangerous.”

Why is chroming dangerous?

Chroming can create a high, but it can also cause “dangerous” changes to the heart’s rhythm, seizures, and even death, Schulte says. “This can happen even on the first try,” she says. 

Inhaling these substances can also lead to brain damage and loss of oxygen in the lungs, says  Eric Ascher, DO, a family medicine physician at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital. “It can replace the oxygen in your lungs with some of the inhalants from the bottles and that can cause asphyxiation,” he says. 

How to store these canisters safely at home if you have kids

Because of how common many of these products are, doctors admit that it can be tough to remove all of them from your home. “The most important thing is keeping tabs on what you have in your house and doing your best to things out of reach of children who may be looking to experiment with some of these products,” Ascher says. 

Ascher also suggests only keeping products like whipped cream or nitrous oxide canisters in your home when you plan to use them. “Buy them pretty much right before you plan to use them and don’t keep them for long periods of time,” he says. “When you do have them, keep them hidden in the back of the fridge.” 

It’s also important to talk to children about chroming and its dangers, says Bruce Ruck, PharmD, managing director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. “Educate your kids on this,” he says. Schulte agrees. “If a child first hears about chroming from a TikTok trend, it may seem normal and harmless,” she says. “Parents need to be proactive in setting expectations and having these discussions so children and teens know what is acceptable and what is dangerous.”