An inquest into the death of a Tweed Heads teenager who died after deliberately inhaling an aerosol deodorant has heard there has been a dozen similar deaths in Australia since 2009.
Sixteen-year-old Bradley Hope went to a friend's place for a sleepover on the night of December 7, 2019.
Just a few hours later he had gone into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead at the Tweed Heads Hospital.
The New South Wales Coroner's Court on Wednesday heard the teen engaged in a practice known in medical circles as volatile substance misuse (VSM).
The most common slang term is chroming.
The court heard Bradley had been involved in chroming for about a year prior to his death and did it every weekend.
His mother Corinne Mair, who launched an online petition to lobby for an inquest, told the ABC she had no idea her son engaged in the risky behaviour.
"It has been quite a shock to the family," Ms Mair said.
"That was one of the reasons we thought educating the public and other parents is such a key to making sure that we don't have another tragedy.
"We're just hoping from this inquest that we can stop another young life like Bradley's being lost."
Complex problem
Counsel Assisting the Coroner Emma Sullivan said the 16-year-old was "not in any respect a heavy user".
Ms Sullivan told the court it was the first inquest into aerosol propellant deaths in NSW, and possibly Australia, despite there being a string of similar deaths.
She told the court there had been 13 deaths related to the inhalation of aerosol deodorants in Australia since 2009, but it was difficult to assess the true extent of what was a "global" and "complex" problem.
She cited an Australian Secondary Student Alcohol and Drug Survey from 2017 that showed 13 per cent of those surveyed had tried inhalants.
"Of those, 43 per cent had tried it once or twice, but 19 per cent of them had done it 10 times or more in one year," Ms Sullivan said.
She said the practice was particularly prevalent in the 12-15 age group and often involved young, marginalised people.
"It is often done behind closed doors," Ms Sullivan said.
Like 'paint stripper'
Daniel Bodnar has been an emergency physician at several Brisbane hospitals since 2010 and gave evidence about the effects of VSM.
He told the court it could disturb the rhythm of the heart.
"It looks like a bag of worms," Dr Bodnar said.
"It hasn't got time to fill."
The court heard Dr Bodnar had previously likened the effects of chroming on the brain to a "paint stripper that melts the paint off a brush".
He said there should be a label on aerosol products advising people to call triple-zero (000) if there was an adverse reaction.
Retail reaction
The director of stores for Woolworths Supermarkets, Jeanette Fenske, told the court the company had become aware of the chroming issue in 2014.
She said aerosol deodorants had been removed from some stores in identified hot spots and replaced with roll-on products, while other outlets had installed lockable cabinets with reinforced glass to prevent theft of items that could be misused.
"We genuinely want to be part of solving this complex problem," Ms Fenske said.
"But there really isn't any public information or data that would allow us to get ahead of this problem of chroming."
She told the court there had been "enormous amounts" of violent and aggressive behaviour towards staff members in areas where restrictions had been put in place.
The inquest continues, and will on Thursday host a conclave of experts to discuss ways of tackling the issue.
