I once witnessed an adolescent attempt to snort chalk as a joke. After giving him a stern lecture and telling his mom, I just couldn't stop shaking my head and wondering, What in the hell is wrong with kids these days? Apparently, I was late to the party with this one because teens have been snorting all kinds of weird powders that aren't actual drugs -- includingSmarties candies-- for years now. Some even film themselves doing it and post their videos on YouTube. The good news, or as close to good news as we're going to get, is that the latest warning against snorting Smarties is so horrifying and repulsive, it may actually get your teen to listen to you for a change.
Smarties, you may recall, is a type of sugar candy that dissolves in your mouth like a pill and is packaged in a colorful roll. They don't produce any kind of high, so kids are crushing them up and snorting them through dollar bills simply as a way of acting out TV and movie drug-snorting fantasies and/or to seem cooler in front of their friends.
The problem -- other than, of course, the fact that these young people are imitating drug users and making light of drug abuse -- is that the powder can cause lung infections and internal bleeding.
But your teen will likely laugh those concerns off. One thing he may not ignore? Snorting Smarties can also reportedly cause an infestation of nasal maggots in the nose! Yep, the rotting candy in the nasal lining can lead to a condition called nasal myiasis, in which nasal tissue becomes infested with fly larvae.
Holy. Cow. Are you kidding me?!
Symptoms to look out for include a tickling sensation inside the nose, sneezing, and discharge from the eyelids that resembles mucus.
Seriously, do yourself a favor if you have a teen. Download a photo of maggots and save it on his or her desktop. I guarantee the last thing he'll think of doing after seeing that image is snorting a bunch of Smarties up his nose. Yuck!
Have you heard of the Smarties snorting trend among teens?
Image via Smarties.com