Children aged 10 injured by chroming

CHILDREN as young as 10 are among the 100 Queenslanders being admitted to hospital every year for chroming, Health Minister Steven Miles revealed said as he announced a roundtable to address the alarming rates.

Mr Miles has called on manufacturers to change their formulas as he extended an invitation to companies, retailers and service providers to meet to come up with new solutions.

During 2018-19, 98 people were admitted 141 times to Queensland hospitals because of chroming – the practice of inhaling intoxicating fumes from products like deodorant and paint.

Numbers of deaths were not released yesterday.

“Chroming is a serious issue affecting some of the most vulnerable people in our community and, heartbreakingly, it disproportionately affects young people,” Mr Miles said.

“Sadly, of those 98 patients, 45 were aged 10-19 and a further 27 were aged under 29.

“I am calling on manufacturers who know their products have a high risk of being misused to change their formulas where they can.”

It comes as businesses in North Queensland have had to go to extreme lengths to crack down on deodorant thefts.

IGA stores across Townsville have added cameras in the health and beauty aisles and have boosted security.

Authorities warned of an escalation of chroming following the deaths of two Townsville teenagers in 2017.

Mr Miles said Unilever had already contacted him acknowledging one of its aerosol deodorant products was being misused by young people and advising it was investigating the issue. A statement from Unilever said the “enormously complex issue” affected the entire aerosol industry with no simple solution.

Mr Miles said manufacturers changing their ingredients to make their products less attractive to young people who want to inhale was a key way forward.

Mental Health Commissioner Ivan Frkovic said it was important to also understand why vulnerable children were using in the first place.