Parents across the country are being warned of a dangerous new trend of kids snorting the candy Smarties, imitating videos they've seen on YouTube that show the candy being crushed and then snorted.
Experts are saying the snorting could have health effects, including causing infection and scarring of the nasal cavity.
Snorting the candy isn't exactly new -- some of the videos on YouTube were posted as long as six years ago -- but Scarborough Middle School in Maine recently issued an informational document to parents warning them of the dangers of snorting the candy. According to the document, students at the school have been snorting and "smoking" the candy. The smoking involves putting the powder in their mouths and attempting to blow it out of their noses. (LA Times)
"We have experienced an unsafe new trend among our middle school students -- smoking or snorting the candy, Smarties," reads the document. The document goes on to warn that the candy can "act like razor blades" if not crushed up finely, can lead to infection and scarring of the nasal cavity. It quotes Dr. Oren Friedman of the Mayo Clinic on the possibility of nasal maggots "feeding on the sugary dust wedged inside the nose."
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