Saturday, October 25, 2025 - A 12-year-old boy from Greater Manchester died after attempting a dangerous social media trend known as “chroming,” an inquest has heard. The practice, which involves inhaling toxic fumes from aerosol cans to achieve a brief high, has been circulating on platforms like TikTok.
Oliver Gorman was found unresponsive in his bedroom on May 5, 2025,
shortly after returning home from a family holiday in Wales. He was later
pronounced dead at the hospital. Investigators discovered several empty
deodorant cans in his room, and a post-mortem examination confirmed that he
died from inhaling butane gas, a chemical found in aerosol sprays.
At the South Manchester Coroner’s Court, Coroner Andrew Bridgman raised
serious concerns about the accessibility of such “challenges” on TikTok,
accusing the platform of “disseminating these challenges quite happily” and
making them easily accessible to vulnerable young users. He also called for
clearer warning labels and potential age restrictions on the sale of aerosol
products.
Oliver’s mother, Clare Gillespie, described her son as a “sweet,
lovely family boy.” The court heard that Oliver had told his mother he was
tired and went to his room after the family’s return home. When she went to
check on him later, she found him unresponsive, with an empty Lynx deodorant
can falling from his bed. Emergency services were called, and his mother
performed CPR, but he was declared dead at 7:31 p.m.
Ms Gillespie told the court she believed Oliver had struggled with the
transition to high school at Denton Community Academy, saying, “He kind of went
into himself a bit… you could see something wasn’t quite right.” She also
expressed concern that he may have faced verbal bullying, though no specific
names or incidents were confirmed.
Detective Inspector Ian Parker of Greater Manchester Police said
investigators found no evidence on Oliver’s electronic devices linking him
directly to the online challenge but acknowledged the growing trend of chroming
among youth. “My impression was it was words, very harsh words based on
physicality, how he looked, that kind of thing,” he said regarding the possible
bullying.
Detective Sergeant Kate Dawson told the inquest that while she was aware
of people abusing aerosols to get high, she had never encountered a case
involving a child in her 23 years of policing. “This was the first time I’ve
seen a child die from it,” she said.
Pathologist reports revealed that butane gas can cause sudden cardiac
arrest and other fatal complications.
While it remains unclear whether Oliver was directly influenced by TikTok,
the coroner warned that trends like chroming pose serious risks to children and
urged social media companies to act more responsibly.
Oliver’s mother said she did not believe her son intended to take his own
life. “I think it was something that had gone terribly wrong,” she said. “I
can’t solely blame a bully; I can’t solely blame TikTok. You can start by
watching videos about local bands, and it can lead you down a dark road, and
causes these children to watch these videos.”
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