Popular food related dares may endanger teens

What junior Lilia Bouzrara thought would be merely a harmless experience soon led to coughing and choking as she attempted the cinnamon challenge, a trend teens around the country have tried, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC).
“It was awful. It was a bad decision,” she said. “The cinnamon made my mouth dry and coated my throat. The second it went in, I coughed it out.”
The cinnamon challenge requires individuals to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon in one minute without drinking water. The spice of the cinnamon makes this task difficult and often induces coughing and choking on unswallowed cinnamon, according to the AAPCC. They recorded 272 reports of “abuse or misuse of cinnamon by teens” to poison control centers between Jan. 1, 2012 and Nov. 30, 2012.
Kirk Hughes, Education director for the Hennepin County Regional Poison Center, said while the cinnamon challenge poses a risk to everyone, people with chronic respiratory illnesses are at a greater risk.
“If someone has asthma, the cinnamon challenge can worsen their condition. Also, doing it wrong can cause aspiration, where cinnamon gets into the lung,” he said.
Hughes said while these cases are rare, they can be much more serious than many people perceive.
“The worst case scenario is death as a result of respiratory failure. The cinnamon challenge can bring on an asthma attack, which can be deadly,” Hughes said. “Most people don’t realize how serious asthma attacks can be,” he said.
One major way the trends have spread has been through social media. Many teens upload videos of themselves attempting the challenges to YouTube.
A YouTube search for “cinnamon challenge” yields almost 70,000 results. In addition, other social media such as Facebook and Twitter have been used to share videos of the challenges between friends.
Sophomore Joe Reimler said he thinks the prospect of Internet fame is an incentive for teens to attempt the challenge.
“If you record yourself doing the challenge and put it online, you could get thousands of views,” Reimler said.
Along with the cinnamon challenge, another trend is the chubby bunny challenge. Freshman Kaylee Chamberlain said this challenge involves filling one’s mouth with marshmallows.
“(Chubby bunny) gets harder to say the more marshmallows you put in,” Chamberlain said.
According to the Loyola University Health System, two teens have choked on marshmallows while attempting the chubby bunny challenge and have been sent to the emergency room. However, Chamberlain said she does not believe the challenge proves to be a health risk.
“It can’t be all that dangerous. What are the chances of dying from marshmallows?” Chamberlain said.
Sophomore Ori Etzion said he thinks the health risks that arise from the challenge outweigh the entertainment it may provide.
“It’s not worth endangering your health just to get a few laughs on the Internet,” Etzion said. “If you see something online, it’s not necessarily a good idea.”
However, Reimler said he thinks the cinnamon challenge is just a trend that will be over soon.
“I think people will stop doing it. It’s stupid. You just end up coughing up cinnamon,” Reimler said. “I don’t know why anyone would do that.”