Woolworths take deodorant cans off the shelf after Logan child’s ‘rexing’ incident

‘Don’t think it won’t happen to you’: The mother of a teen declared brain dead after chroming says locking up deodorants is a start but warns parents more still needs to be done.

Australian supermarket giant Woolworths has taken deodorant cans off their standard shelves following a highly publicised story about a teenager who was left brain dead after a chroming incident last year.

Woolworths and Coles in selected areas have now moved spray deodorant into locked cabinets.

It follows the highly publicised story about Logan resident, Chloe Rowe, who was found without a pulse in Logan bushlands in 2020.

The 16-year-old now suffers permanent brain damage and is unable to speak or move.

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Woolworths’ decision has been praised by Chloe’s mum, Sarah Nevins.

“She will never be the same, I don’t think there will ever be much improvement,” Ms Nevins said.

“She looks disabled, she’s physically disabled, her brain, there’s a lapse there.”

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Ms Nevins said the attractive packaging and easy access to children was to blame.

“This is what can happen, the kids look at the pretty images on the can and they can favour a certain smell because they have a nice taste, but the reality is this is what can happen,” she said.

“I just don’t know why kids do it, there should be more education into solvent use”.

While she does not think deodorant cans should be banned she said no parent should ever think it won’t happen to them.

“Never think it wouldn’t happen to you. Talk openly with children above solvent abuse.

“It is a real thing kids are participating in and it can kill.”

It is understood several Woolworths stores in the Brisbane, Logan, and Gold Coast regions have placed their cans under lock and key.

“I think locking them away is good, it’s better late than never,” Ms Nevins said.

Although it is too late for her daughter who never understood the damager her experimenting would do.

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For customers to access the product, they must ring a buzzer located near the cans and a staff member will unlock the cabinet and hand out the product.

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A Surfers Paradise Woolworths staff member mentioned the move was being implemented in other Woolworths stores around the Gold Coast but there is still a lot of warning.

“I’ve seen other Gold Coast stores doing the same thing,” she said.

“To my knowledge there’s no age bracket or limit of cans that can be taken out at a time.”

Ms Nevins said consumers needed to be educated on what harm the products can do.

“I had no idea antiperspirant was something that can stop the heart,” she said.

“We need to be educating that this is what can happen, add solvent abuse into educating young children, just like alcohol and drug abuse.”

Woolworths Queensland State Manager, Danny Baldwin, said he hoped the new cabinet system would reduce theft and misuse of aerosol cans.

“At Woolworths, we want to play our part in reducing the abuse of these products in Queensland,” Mr Baldwin said.

“With these new cabinets, we’re hoping to significantly reduce the opportunity for misuse while continuing to offer access to the products where our customers expect to find them.”