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‘Cinnamon challenge’ spurs increased calls to poison centers, ED visits
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Clinicians are being urged to discuss the potential harm of the “cinnamon challenge” with adolescents and teens.
The cinnamon challenge, the topic of many online videos, entails swallowing a tablespoon of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds without drinking fluids, according to a statement from Steven E. Lipshultz, MD, of the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami.
Steven E. Lipshultz
Although most young people who do it endure only temporary effects, Lipshultz and colleagues said the stunt has led to calls to poison centers, ED visits, and even hospitalizations for adolescents who required ventilator support for collapsed lungs.
Lipshultz and his team also warned that swallowing so much cinnamon, a caustic powder composed of cellulose fibers that neither dissolve nor biodegrade in the lungs, has shown in animal studies to cause lesions, scarring and inflammation of the airways and lungs, and other lasting effects such as progressive pulmonary fibrosis. This may especially be a concern among those with asthma, pulmonary cystic fibrosis, chronic lung disease or a hypersensitivity to the spice, the researchers said.
As of August, more than 50,000 YouTube videos of young people choking, gagging and coughing as they accept the dare had appeared on the Internet, attracting millions of viewers, predominantly in the 13- to-24-year-old age group.
No doubt, the researchers said, the growing Internet presence of the cinnamon challenge led to the surge in calls to the American Association of Poison Control Centers. In the first 6 months of 2012, the center received 178 challenge-related calls, more than triple the 51 calls the center received the entire previous year. Of those 178 calls, 122 (69%) were classified as intentional misuse or abuse and about 30 calls (17%) required medical attention.
Disclosure: Lipshultz reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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