A teenager who found comfort in a deodorant's smell because her mother used it died from inhaling the spray, family warn
- A 14-year-old girl in England went into cardiac arrest and died after inhaling aerosol deodorant.
- "People don't know how dangerous the contents of those tins can be," her father told BBC News.
The parents of a 14-year-old girl who died suddenly after inhaling the spray from an aerosol can of deodorant are raising awareness. They want clearer labeling about the products' potential dangers.
Giorgia Green, of Derby, England, was found unresponsive in her room in May of last year after going into cardiac arrest.
The teenager liked to spray the deodorant on a blanket and wrap herself in it, her parents said in a statement on the fundraising site JustGiving, as it made her feel "relaxed and calm." Her death came as "a total shock and totally out of the blue," they said.
"People don't know how dangerous the contents of those tins can be," her father, Paul Green, told BBC News on Thursday.
"I would like it so that no one else in the country — or the world — would end up having to go through what we've personally gone through. We don't want our daughter's death to be in vain," he said.
Giorgia, who was autistic, found comfort in the smell of the deodorant because her mother used it, he added. Her cause of death was "unascertained but consistent with inhalation of aerosol," according to the coroner's inquest.
The British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association replied in a statement to the news outlet that they take "very seriously any incident involving aerosol products, and we were deeply saddened to learn of the death of someone so young."
While the British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association added that deodorants had "very clear warnings," Giorgia's parents said that the warning labels on the products are not visible enough, and that people may buy these products for children without full awareness of the possible dangers.
Giorgia's parents want the labels changed to "solvent use can kill instantly," the Greens told the BBC. Several other young people have died in similar circumstances, they added.
Aerosol deodorant was mentioned on 11 death certificates from 2001 to 2020, according to Britain's Office for National Statistics, although the actual number may be higher, according to The Times. Giorgia's parents said that "this type of death is not limited to children."
So far, Clare and Paul Green have raised nearly $4,000 to address "the dangers of aerosol spray use."