Last year, 11-year-old Tommie-Lee was found unresponsive at a friend’s house during a sleepover.
His family said he suffered a cardiac arrest after taking part in a TikTok challenge known as ”chroming”.
The heartbroken family of 11-year-old Tommie-Lee Gracie Billington is sounding the alarm about the dangers of social media after the young boy tragically lost his life.
According to ITV, 11-year-old Tommie-Lee passed away on March 2, 2014, at a friend’s house in Lancaster, UK. Tommie-Lee’s grandmother, Tina Burns, revealed that he died “instantly” after taking part in a concerning online trend.
”Tommie-Lee went into cardiac arrest immediately and died right there and then. The hospital did everything to try and bring him back but nothing worked. He was gone,” she said.
The risky TikTok trend known as ‘chroming’ involves inhaling volatile substances for a high, according to The Royal Children’s Hospital.
Paying tribute to her grandson, Burns described him as a “heart of gold” and “a bright, energetic boy.” She added, “We don’t want any other children to follow TikTok or be on social media. In fact, we want to get TikTok taken down and no children to be allowed on any social media under 16 years of age.”
