COLUMBIA - School officials at Paxton-Keeley Elementary School discovered some ten and eleven-year-olds were snorting crushed Smarties.
It took place in school bathrooms and during recess hours. In a recent letter to parents, Paxton Keeley principal Elaine Hassemer said, "It's come to our attention that some fifth grade students are participating in a dangerous activity." The letter goes on to say, "Experts also worry that this trend could spark interest in real cigarettes or illegal drugs." Rock Bridge High School junior, Shelby Mobley said, "I think it's really sickening for one thing. It foreshadows a more drugged-up society." Mobley has a sixth grade brother in the Columbia Public School system and plans to talk with him about this new trend. This is not a problem exclusive to Columbia though. Teachers at Paxton Keeley believe students got the idea from how-to-do Youtube videos on snorting Smarties candy. We found dozens of videos where pre-teens demonstrated crushing the candy, lining the residue and then snorting it. A radio station even posted a video blog on Youtube with the hosts documenting the step-by-step process.
Dr. William Kinney with the Missouri Ear, Nose and Throat Center was shocked when he learned about the new fad. He said, "After chronic abuse, you can actually get a hole between the two sides of the nose. This can lead to chronic bleeding, which is very difficult to repair." Additional side effects include, reactions, bleeding, inflammation, Pneumonia and Bronchitus. In the most severe cases, snorting Smarties candy can cause death from choking. What's most surprising, people cannot achieve a real high from snorting Smarties. Dr. Kinney added, "At best, users can get a sugar high, but could just as easily eat the tablet-like candies." This leads him to believe this abuse stems from peer pressure and children's attempt to fit in.
Meanwhile, officials at Paxton Keeley Elementary urge parents to talk with their kids about the dangers of snorting anything. The school has four internet safety sessions planned for Thursday November, 12 during parent teacher conferences. Although staff will discuss many online safety aspects, the Smarties issue will also be addressed.
We've included a copy of Paxton Kelley's letter home to parents on this page and the internet safety session date and times in our links and numbers section.
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