Australia Fair Woolworths joins list of retailers locking away aerosol deodorants as ‘chroming’ surges among Gold Coast teens

It’s the ultimate barometer of youth crime – so what does your grocery store say about your suburb?

It’s the ultimate barometer of youth crime in every single Gold Coast suburb.

It’s readily available at all grocery stores, whether at the small independent corner shop or major multinational brand.

You can find it right next to shaving cream, sanitary pads and toothpaste … it’s the humble can of deodorant.

And in suburbs where youth crime is a growing problem, you’ll now find it under lock and key.

Just witness the deodorant aisle at Woolworths Australia Fair. Rexona, Dove and Old Spice alike are secured behind sealed glass.

It’s the same again at the Woolworths at Circle on Cavill in Surfers Paradise, at the IGA in Coomera and multiple stores on the northern Gold Coast.

Meanwhile, it’s literally the sweet smell of freedom for deodorants at the shops of Mermaid Beach.

CHROMING AN AUSTRALIA-WIDE EPIDEMIC

Gold Coast grocers in areas of growing youth crime are joining the movement to lock away this seemingly innocent item thanks to a spike in a deadly trend.

The growing substance abuse issue known as “huffing” or “chroming”, where people inhale the contents of deodorant cans to get high, means that these aerosols are now a hot item for young thieves.

Aerosol cans discarded in a park. Picture Glenn Campbell

A Woolworths spokesperson last week said the initiative to lock away deodorants was rolled out across a number of Queensland stores, including select locations on the Gold Coast, saying the decision had been made in conjunction with local police.

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

“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 (in the health and beauty aisle).”

Coles said it was also working with police to “minimise harm caused by the misuse of aerosol products”.

“A number of our stores now have lockable aerosol cabinets installed, and customers seeking to purchase these products can simply ask a team member at the service desk for assistance,” the spokesperson said.

“We’ve had positive feedback from our customers since we introduced the lockable aerosol cabinets. It takes the whole community to support this issue.”

‘DISTURBING’ CHROMING TREND ON GOLD COAST

Police and medical experts say chroming, while not illegal, has become an Australian-wide epidemic and is responsible for flow-on problems such as crime and long-term health issues.

Continued misuse of the health product can cause serious health problems such as seizures, heart palpitations or in extreme cases, sudden death. One such fatality was 16-year-old Brooke Ryan, whose mother found her dead in her bedroom, lying face down with a spray can of deodorant and a tea towel underneath her in February.

Aerosol deodorants locked up at Woolworths Australia Fair. Picture: Ann Wason Moore

It’s not a new problem here on the Gold Coast, but it is a growing one. Even back in 2019, Coomera police told the Bulletin there had been a “disturbing trend” of children between ages 11 and 13 being found chroming.

Meanwhile, clinical toxicologist Dr Ingrid Berling says calls to the NSW Poisons Information Centre about inhalant usage nearly doubled between 2017 and 2020. About half of the calls involved children younger than 11 years old, and another 20 per cent were less than 19.

Even without the tragedy of death or permanent damage, this chroming crisis is unspeakably sad.

Youth Affairs Network of Queensland director Siyavash Doostkhah says the organisation, the peak body for youth sector and youth issues in the state, found many people engaging in the behaviour were driven by deeper, emotional issues.

“The chronic users come from broken-down families with low socio-economic backgrounds, mental health issues, child abuse. All those sorts of things … being disengaged with school," he said.

A juvenile chroming.

“When we ask them why they chrome they say they are just bored. But if you dig a bit deeper, you find that what they mean by boredom is depression — that sense of hopelessness and all of those sort of issues.”

It’s great that so many of our retailers are doing their part to keep the community safe but, sadly, this substance abuse is only a symptom of the real problem.

So perhaps what we need to do here on the Gold Coast is take a survey of every suburb where deodorants are locked away … and then invest some time and money into the youth and social problems of that area.

It’s not easy, but something has to be done to stop the spread.

Because judging by this deodorant barometer, when it comes to youth crime, so far our solutions stink