“When you spoke at our school you talked about a TikTok social media challenge and the death of a girl in Melbourne. She died after inhaling the contents of an aerosol can. I recently got a post that I think was the one you were talking about but it was called a ‘chroming challenge’. What is chroming?”
Volatile substances (also known as solvents or inhalants) include a range of products that give off fumes or vapours that can be misused by inhaling them through the mouth or nose to get a ‘high’. They include a broad range of domestic products, including fuels, solvents, aerosols, glues, adhesives and paint thinners. Although ‘chroming’ is now used far more broadly to include the misuse of any volatile substance, it originally referred to one specific product. The term, believed to originate in Australia in the late 1990s, involved the practice of inhaling the contents of an aerosol can containing chrome or metallic paint.
In 2023, chroming hit the headlines due to a viral social media trend using the term, challenging people to inhale fumes from aerosol cans, as well as other products. Challengers then recorded themselves doing this, posting their video to TikTok using one of several hashtags. Interestingly, none of these posts appeared to involve the specific use of chrome-based products, further reinforcing the broader use of this term.
As with other viral challenges, some young people chose to take part most likely motivated by the desire for social media popularity as well as the allure of TikTok trends. This is one of the most dangerous viral challenges, however, and unfortunately has been a contributing factor in the death of young people across the world, including here in Australia.
Inhaling the contents of an aerosol can is extremely dangerous. These products are not intended for human consumption and when misused can deprive the body of oxygen leading to cardiac or respiratory failure. Even doing this just once can be fatal.
First published: April 2026
