The parents of 13 year old Esra Haynes are warning other teens of the dangers of the "chroming" trend after Esra passed after sustaining fatal brain damage at a sleepover in late March 2023.
Haynes, who was in year 8 at school, went into cardiac arrest and sustained brain damage after taking part in the "chroming" trend. The activity, growing in popularity with teens, involves deliberately inhaling the dangerous chemicals in a pressurized can of deodorant in search of a high.
Esra's family is heartbroken, but talked with Current Affair in detail about what they want other teens to see and learn from Esra's experience. Specifically, the interview shows many images of Esra on the life-support she was on for just over a week after the incident before her parents and medical team removed life support as her sustained brain damage did not show improvement.
'A quick high that proved fatal': The chroming warning all families need to hear | A Current Affair www.youtube.com
People reached out with their condolences to Esra's parents.
\u201c@ACurrentAffair9 Those poor parents my thoughts and prayers are with you\nSuch a terrible loss. RIP beautiful angel.\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\udc9e\u201d— A Current Affair (@A Current Affair) 1684743462
Many others noted that it looks like "chroming" is just a new name for an old, dangerous habit: "huffing" paint cans.
\u201c@theblaze Teens were huffing back in the 60s. This is so very sad but not new.\u201d— TheBlaze (@TheBlaze) 1684890032
\u201c@theblaze So, she was \u201chuffing\u201d?\u201d— TheBlaze (@TheBlaze) 1684890032
\u201c@NpAnatomy Huffing ether isn't new, but popularizing it in pockets of social media probably is, though\u201d— RED (@RED) 1684883433
Specifically, people wanted to know, where are the kids learning about it this time?
\u201c@NpAnatomy Did she learn that from TikTok?\u201d— RED (@RED) 1684883433
Surprise
\u201c@ACurrentAffair9 Sad. Unfortunately been happening since my days, surprised these parents don\u2019t know what chroming is. Schools need drug education starting from primary school. Can\u2019t believe it\u2019s still happening\u201d— A Current Affair (@A Current Affair) 1684743462
\u201c@theblaze This is a reason why I can't clean my computer out without gagging, from when people were getting high off of canned air\u201d— TheBlaze (@TheBlaze) 1684890032
In addition to taking the Haynes' message to heart, others picked up on the fact that parents need to bring this subject up to their kids.
\u201c@theblaze This is nothing new. People were doing this with paint and shoe shine in the 80\u2019s. Sad but you can\u2019t prevent anything from ever happening to anyone. Best you can do pay close attention to your kids. I\u2019m sure this was probably a regular thing during the \u201csleepovers\u201d.\u201d— TheBlaze (@TheBlaze) 1684890032
\u201c@theblaze This is like tide pod thing all over agaim. Warning labels are there for a reason. You are not supposed to inhale chemicals in the first place. Teach your kids common sense.\u201d— TheBlaze (@TheBlaze) 1684890032
Despire their loss, the Hayneses are committed to talking about Esra and her name, putting her senseless death to some good. "“We need to talk about it,” Paul said. “Her name meant ‘helper’ so that’s what we’re here to do.”
