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Woolworths stores lock up aerosol deodorants amid chroming concerns in Queensland

Supermarkets across Queensland are locking up deodorant cans in glass cabinets as part of a crackdown on potentially deadly volatile substance use, known as chroming.

First trialled in the Northern Territory and Mount Isa last year, the initiative has now been rolled out at almost 30 Woolworths stores in Cairns, Townsville, Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast.

Health professionals say inhalant abuse is akin to "melting your brain" and has destructive short and long-term health impacts.

Townsville man Maverick Massey has experienced the devastation firsthand.

In 2017, his son Brian was found dead in a local park where he had been sniffing deodorant in search of a high.

"I think about him nearly every day … I go to the cemetery every weekend and visit him," Mr Massey said.

"He was a happy-go-lucky little boy.

"He had good friends and bad friends, and I think he went down the wrong path with the bad friends."

Mr Massey believes locking up deodorants is a good idea and wants to see more programs to warn young people about the dangers of chroming.

The serious public health issue disproportionately impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.

Chroming escalates in Cairns

Support service Youth Empowered Towards Independence (YETI) said Cairns was in the midst of a significant chroming outbreak.

"The numbers are certainly the highest we've experienced in the last two or three years," chief executive Genevieve Sinclair said.

"We've had at least 10 deaths in the past four or five years that we know of nationally, and probably many, many others where the inhalant use hasn't yet been identified as the clear source of death."

Ms Sinclair applauded the Woolworths trial and urged more retailers in chroming hotspots to "step up" and adopt similar policies.

Supermarket giant Coles says it keeps aerosols behind the counter at a number of its Cairns stores, with two locked cabinets installed in the Mount Isa and Brisbane Myer Express supermarkets.

"We know from history that the supply reduction efforts around fuel and petrol were some of the most successful that we've seen in terms of reducing the harms associated with inhalant misuse," Ms Sinclair said.

"Young people, when they can't obtain deodorant at a store, can separate and move on and decide to do other things that aren't as dangerous."

Affects of chroming 'devastating'

At the Townsville University Hospital, the volume of young people presenting at the emergency department for inhalant abuse has steadily dropped since the start of the pandemic.

But associate professor Luke Lawton said every case was a concern.

"A great way of describing chroming is that it melts your brain," he said.

Dr Lawton said inhalant abuse could cause loss of consciousness, seizures, cardiac arrest, brain damage and heart problems.

"So both from a short and long-term perspective, it's a devastating activity to undertake," he said.

"Anything that affects children [and] young people – whether that's acutely or chronically – really is a catastrophe for that young person, but also with the ripple effect out into their family, the community and the health care system more broadly."

Better supporting young people

While chroming itself is not illegal, police say it is often linked to other crimes.

"Once the person has chromed, and they're in that euphoric or under-the-influence state, they can actually then commit other offences," said Senior Sergeant Anne-Maree Lanigan from the Townsville Child Protection Investigation Unit.

"That varies from simple street offences to more stealing, or assaults – anything is possible once they're under the influence of an accelerant."

Woolworths said it would listen to community feedback about the effectiveness of the cabinet trial over the coming months.

Ms Sinclair said while locking up deodorant was an important measure to combat chroming, companies should also modify their products to make them safer.

She said more funding was needed for youth drug and alcohol initiatives, along with services to support vulnerable children and teenagers.

"Because often the issue is not about the drug, about the inhalant, but it's all those things that are going on for young people," Ms Sinclair said.

"Their access to school, what's happening at home, the current homelessness crisis – there's a whole lot of work to be done in our social system to stop young people reaching the point where they're making these really unhealthy choices."

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