Summary: The trend of snorting chocolate is starting to pick up in the United States but little to no research has been done on the health safety effects, prompting hesitation from experts.
Coko Loko sounds like a drug but is it? The snortable chocolate product has been marketed as a stimulant and stress reducer for the past few years in Europe so maybe there are some drug-like qualities. The product has started to gain popularity in the United States, prompting officials to demand regulations.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is wary of the product, asking federal regulators to look into it more since it is marketed as a drug. Schumer sent the Food and Drug Administration a letter urging them to study the use of caffeine in inhalable food products. The Senate minority leader believes there is more to the product than and others like it using chocolate as an innocent ingredient.
Schumer said in a statement, “This suspect product has no clear health value. I can’t think of a single parent who thinks it is a good idea for their children to be snorting over-the-counter stimulants up their noses.”
Coko Loko does not list their ingredients online, only noting the product includes cacao powder. A news report indicates the other ingredients mirror those found in energy drinks. The manufacturer Legal Lean Co. and its founder state “You get a nice minor euphoric rush. You feel a calm energy and focus. You feel motivated to want to go out and dance or be social. You feel yourself; you just feel a nice positive vibe and energy to you.” Founder Nick Anderson admits that they did not seek any medical professionals when creating the product but believe it to be safe.
Anderson came up with the idea of seeing videos of people snorting chocolate in Europe and sampling it himself. His product Coco Loko has been available online for a month and is starting to show up in smoke and tobacco shops, so it is only intended for those over 18 years of age but there is no age restriction on the product right now.
While chocolate is obviously not an issue for humans to consume, the way they are ingesting this product is. A spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians Dr. Ryan Stanton said, “There’s a reason why our GI tract is completely separate from the breathing tract. The stomach is designed to take in things and deal with them, whereas the lungs are designed for air, and that’s it. They’re not designed to deal with being a filter, which is basically what you’re asking them to do with these foreign substances.” He explained that while the nasal passage blocks most debris from entering the lungs, chances are some powder will make it through.
When snorting flavored sugar was a trend, Stanton and his colleagues saw problems like tissue scarring, chemical pneumonitis, which is an inflammation of the lung caused by inhaling irritants. Those with lung disorders like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are especially susceptible.
The FDA does not know if they have the authority to regulate snortable chocolate. With no research done on the product, there is no known safe dosage amount, which will likely lead to problems for users.
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Photo: oann.com