Tragic Death of 11-Year-Old Boy After Inhaling Deodorant at Sleepover
An 11-year-old schoolboy tragically lost his life after inhaling from a can of deodorant during a sleepover at a friend's house in Lancaster. Tommie-lee Gracie Billington collapsed on a bed with a Lynx can by his side in March 2024, leading to a cardiac arrest that proved fatal.
Mother Points to Social Media Influence in Chroming Challenge
Following the heartbreaking incident, Tommie-lee's mother, Sherri-Ann Gracie, asserted that his death was connected to a dangerous TikTok trend known as 'chroming'. This online challenge encourages children to inhale toxic aerosol fumes to achieve a temporary high. She has since called for a ban on social media access for children under the age of 16, citing the pervasive spread of harmful content.
However, police evidence presented at the inquest revealed a different chain of events. Investigators stated that Tommie-lee actually learned about the practice directly from an older boy at a local skatepark, rather than from viewing videos online. Detective Chief Inspector Dylan Hrynow confirmed, 'The evidence was that an older boy showed them how to inhale deodorant at a skatepark.'
Coroner Highlights Lack of Awareness and Adult Guidance
Coroner Emma Mather concluded that Tommie-lee's death was a result of misadventure. She emphasized that, as a young child, he was unable to comprehend the severe risks associated with inhaling aerosols. 'No adult had a chance to counsel Tommie-lee on the dangers of aerosols. As a young child, he would not realise the dangers himself,' she stated during the proceedings.
Mather also paid tribute to Tommie-lee, describing him as a 'beautiful boy who had his whole life ahead of him.' His father, Graham Billington, emotionally recounted, 'He was just a beautiful boy. He was a whirlwind - full of life and energy. I really miss him. I am just really, really upset.'
Details Emerge from the Sleepover Incident
The inquest at Preston Coroner's Court heard that Tommie-lee was found unresponsive by his friend's mother in the early hours of March 2, 2024. Despite over an hour of resuscitation efforts at Royal Lancaster Infirmary, he was pronounced dead later that afternoon.
Further investigation uncovered that Tommie-lee and his friend had made a Snapchat video call to another peer during the sleepover. The call showed them inhaling Lynx deodorant and was captioned: 'This is what we are doing.' The group chat included an emoji depicting a tongue out with eyes rolling back, and the friend on the call urged them to stop.
Alarmingly, it was revealed that the boys had been caught inhaling deodorant six months prior by the friend's father, but Tommie-lee's parents were unaware of this previous incident. Graham Billington expressed his anger upon learning this detail during the inquest.
Ongoing Concerns Over Social Media and Aerosol Safety
Despite police findings that no direct evidence linked Tommie-lee to watching chroming videos before his death, his mother remains deeply concerned about the role of social media. She told the Daily Mail, 'The chroming videos had all been shown to his friends and passed around. An older boy had seen the video and that's where it had come from. The video was being passed around by people he knew - that is how they knew about it.'
DCI Hrynow acknowledged the challenges in tracking online content, noting, 'However we are aware that videos of harmful content can disappear easily from the internet.'
TikTok has stated that it prohibits content promoting dangerous activities like chroming and blocks related searches. Nonetheless, the term 'chroming', first recorded in 2006, has gained traction among younger audiences via social platforms where users post videos of themselves inhaling toxic fumes.
Broader Calls for Regulatory Action
This tragedy echoes similar cases, prompting calls for stricter measures. Last year, a coroner recommended age restrictions on aerosol deodorant sales and clearer warning labels after the death of 12-year-old Oliver Gorman in Greater Manchester, who was also influenced by the chroming trend.
Tommie-lee's grandmother, Tina Burns, initially blamed social media for the loss, highlighting the ongoing debate over digital safety for children. As communities grapple with these incidents, the focus remains on enhancing education about aerosol dangers and scrutinizing the impact of online content on youth behavior.
