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 Coroners 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.
Olivers 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 familys 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 wasnt 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 Olivers 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 Ive 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. Olivers 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 cant solely blame a bully, I cant 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. TikTok has since restricted searches for terms related to chroming, but safety advocates and parents continue to call for stronger measures to protect minors from harmful online trends.
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