Consumer goods giant Unilever says it’s on board with a plan to help prevent children and teens from inhaling dangerous household chemicals to get high.
Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles has asked the state’s chief health officer to convene a roundtable to discuss strategies to end the practice, known as chroming.
He said half of the 98 people admitted to Queensland hospitals 141 times in the past for chroming were aged 10 to 15.
Mr Miles said the complex issue affected “some of the most vulnerable people in our community”.
“There is place for a national discussion about this,” he said.
Unilever welcomed the call and said it has been in contact with major retailers asking for their aerosol deodorants for sale in the most affected areas to be contained in theft-reduction shelving.
“This is an enormously complex issue affecting the entire aerosol industry with no simple solution,” a statement from the company read.
“It requires an industry-wide approach and the actions of one manufacturer alone will not solve it.”
Mr Miles said there was no evidence chroming was on the increase, but he said that does not mean the issue shouldn’t be tackled.
Australian Associated Press