Boy, 11, dies after taking part in ‘chroming’ social media trend despite mum's warning
A coroner's inquest has revealed the cause of a UK boy's death after a 'chroming' incident.
11-year-old Freddie Davis sadly became the latest victim of the online craze, which sees people inhale toxic fumes from household products such as deodorant, in order to achieve a short-lived high.
Grieving parents have issued a number of warnings about the dangers of chroming, which is also known as 'huffing', after it led to the premature deaths of several children in the UK and the US.
Freddie's mother, Roseanne Thompson, had even spotted the trend herself and warned her son against it, but heartbreakingly found him lifeless in January 2025, with a coroner's inquest recently ruling that a body spray aerosol was to blame.
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Roseanne's statement read: “I went into his room to wake him up. I opened the door and called out ‘Fred’ as I do most mornings.
“I could see he was lying on his front with his face down. I called Fred again. Usually by now, he would have responded.
"I began to analyse his position and was thinking ‘why is he like that?’ I put my hand on his shoulder and noticed he was colder than usual.
“I called out for help and said ‘I think Fred has gone.’ I dialled 999 and said to the operator ‘I think my son is dead.”
She also shared how she had previously bought her son aerosol deodorant but stopped after noticing that a can was finished within 24 hours, and switched to roll-on deodorant instead.
However, when a spray can fell from his dressing down when his mother tried to rouse him in the morning, she suspected what might have happened.
A police report into his death said officers were aware of a trend 'whereby children empty cans of deodorant into socks and use it to get a high'.
At the inquest into his death, Pathologist Dr Liina Palm (CORR) gave the cause of death as inhalation of butane aerosol propellant, while forensic toxicologist John Slaughter said propane, butane and isobutane were found in Freddie’s tissue samples, consistent with the contents of the can.
Roseanne concluded: “Children are easily led and they do not realise the dangers.
“I wouldn’t even risk bringing aerosols anywhere near my family now, I won’t even have them in the house.
“These things do kill people.”
Ashley Martin, public health adviser at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, previously said: "It's easy to assume they are completely safe and totally free from risk. The truth is they're not.
"Inhaling large quantities of aerosols, not just deodorants, can lead to a whole host of life-endangering scenarios - from blackouts and breathing difficulties, to heart rhythm changes and sadly, death.
"There's a common misconception that fatalities from aerosols only happen in a substance abuse scenario, but this is absolutely not true.
"We have seen a number of fatalities over recent years where children and young adults have over-sprayed aerosols - from teenagers conscious of body odour, to children seeking reassurance from familiar smells."
James Moorhouse