Dangers of the 'Cinnamon Challenge' continue to make news
The story about a Huron High School student hospitalized after trying the so-called "Cinnamon Challenge" continues to make news.
Since AnnArbor.com reported the story about a Huron High School student hospitalized after trying challenge last week, news outlets including WYXZ, Fox News and The Detroit News have covered it.
The Cinnamon Challenge, which involves trying to swallow a teaspoon of cinnamon in less than 60 seconds without drinking anything, is a viral Internet sensation, but health experts say it can be dangerous.
The Wall Street Journal article, which notes 30,000 videos tagged "cinnamon challenge" have been uploaded to YouTube, quoted Williams warning about the dangers to teens.
Human salivary glands cannot produce enough saliva to properly swallow the spice without the aid of liquids, health experts warn. Trying to swallow the cinnamon can cause cause coughing, choking, vomiting and hypoxia, Williams warned in his e-mail. The cinnamon can be aspirated into the lungs and cause pneumonia, he wrote.
See a WXYZ video interview below with Dejah Reed, the Huron High School student who was hospitalized for four days after trying the Cinnamon Challenge:
Comments
Tru2Blu76
Tue, Mar 20, 2012 : 9:25 p.m.
Demonstrating before others to increase status: chimps do this in the wild all the time. Fortunately for the chimps, they don't have the technology to produce skate boards or ground cinnamon or the Internet. There's an old indie film called "The Gods Are Laughing" - it tells of an aborigine who has a Coca-Cola bottle fall from a clear blue sky and land at his feet. He takes this to be a sign, a message, and he embarks on a long trek to discover its meaning. His journey provides no real benefit - so he concludes the Gods are laughing at us humans.
BhavanaJagat
Fri, Mar 16, 2012 : 3:28 p.m.
What is man? : The problem is that of ignorance. We live in a world and we do not care to know who we are. Cinnamon, genus Cinnamomum, Laurel family, is made from the dried inner bark of these shrubs native to Southeast Asia. Man lives in a world that is created for his benefit. Man uses as food several naturally created herbs and spices that impart unique flavors and make the food that he eats delicious. Indians have been enjoying the use of Cinnamon for thousands of years. I sprinkle a pinch of ground cinnamon and relish my morning cup of tea. If this powder is inhaled, it is an irritant and damages respiratory passages and lung tissue. Cinnamon is intended to enhance the flavor of food and drink and to inhale it displays ignorance about our existence as created beings.
stonecutter1
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 7:34 p.m.
Natural selection at work.
obviouscomment
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 5:52 p.m.
Some people just have way too much time on their hands. Find something productive to do with your lives please.
Booradley
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 5:20 p.m.
When I was a kid of mom or dad said don't drink the Draino or it will kill you, so we didn't drink the Draino. Young people these days find it cool to take their lives to the edge and some of the these kids don't make it back. Too bad. What's next? Peanut butter sniffing? Can't watch them all.
M.
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 8:37 p.m.
My parents never told me not to eat a teaspoon of cinnamon. I would bet that a majority of parents these days do not know this could be dangerous either and have not warned their children. That's why news outlets like AnnArbor.com and others are useful, because they educate people about things like this, enabling parents to have discussions with their children over current issues and possible dangers.
Jake C
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 7:07 p.m.
"Young people these days find it cool to take their lives to the edge and some of the these kids don't make it back. Too bad." When I was a kid, my mom and dad told us not to make fun of the misfortune of others. Your reaction is, "Too bad". Not sure what else to say...
deletedcomment
Thu, Mar 15, 2012 : 5:18 p.m.
Please government make a new law to save us from ourselves.