Snorting crushed Smarties candy forces fine sugar powder into your nasal passages and, potentially, your lungs. For most kids who try it once or twice, the result is a stinging nose and maybe a coughing fit. But repeated snorting can cause real irritation, infection, and in rare cases, lung problems that go beyond a harmless schoolyard dare.
Why Kids Do It
The trend involves crushing Smarties (the small, chalky candy wafers) inside their wrapper, then either snorting the powder through a nostril or blowing it out of the mouth to mimic cigarette smoke. It circulates through schools in waves, often spread by social media videos. Most kids treat it as a joke or a dare, not realizing that inhaling any fine powder into the nasal passages and airways carries genuine health risks.
What the Powder Does to Your Nose
Smarties are made of dextrose (a simple sugar), citric acid, calcium stearate, artificial colors, and flavorings. When crushed into a fine powder and snorted, the citric acid creates an immediate burning sensation in the nasal lining. The sugar and powder particles stick to the moist tissue inside the nose, causing irritation and swelling.
If the powder isn’t crushed finely enough, the larger granules can act like tiny abrasives against the delicate nasal membrane, potentially causing small cuts or scarring inside the nasal cavity. Repeated irritation of this kind can lead to nosebleeds, chronic stuffiness, and a nasal lining that’s more vulnerable to infection. Sugar residue left in the nose also creates a friendly environment for bacteria, raising the risk of a sinus infection that might need antibiotics to clear.
The Nasal Maggot Claim
One of the most alarming warnings that circulated online was that snorting Smarties could lead to maggots infesting the nose. The idea was that flies could be attracted to sugary residue lodged in the nasal passages and lay eggs there. Dr. Oren Friedman of the Mayo Clinic was quoted in early news coverage suggesting the theoretical possibility of larvae feeding on sugar dust wedged inside the nose.
However, clinical toxicologists have pushed back hard on this claim. Dr. Karen Simone, director of the Northern New England Poison Center, called the maggot warnings “outrageous” and “fear mongering,” noting that nasal maggot infestations are something you might see in tropical countries in patients with serious tissue damage, not in otherwise healthy children who snorted some candy. No confirmed case of nasal maggots from Smarties has been documented in the medical literature.
The Real Concern: Powder in the Lungs
The more serious risk isn’t in the nose. It’s what happens if the powder travels past the nasal passages and gets inhaled into the lungs. Fine particles of any kind, whether sugar, starch, or cellulose, can trigger inflammation in the airways. For a child with asthma, even a small amount of inhaled powder can provoke a significant flare-up.
Research on inhaling fine powders paints a clear picture of what happens deeper in the respiratory system. Studies on the “cinnamon challenge” (another trend involving inhaling powdered substances) found that aspirated powder entering the upper airways causes inflammation and can, in more severe cases, lead to aspiration pneumonia. That trend sent dozens of adolescents to emergency departments, and some required ventilator support for collapsed lungs.
Smarties powder is not as caustic as cinnamon, which contains cellulose fibers that don’t dissolve or break down in the lungs. But the principle is the same: your lungs are designed to handle air, not particulate matter. Animal studies on inhaled cellulose particles found mild lung inflammation within days of a single exposure, with more serious scarring and fibrotic changes appearing months later. Repeated exposure made the damage worse. While a single episode of snorting Smarties is unlikely to cause this kind of lasting harm, the research makes clear that habitually inhaling fine powders is not something your respiratory system shrugs off.
What Most Kids Actually Experience
Dr. Simone’s assessment is that for the average child, the worst expected outcome is an irritated nose. A large amount or a large piece could irritate the lungs, but unless the child has asthma or gets an extreme exposure, significant respiratory problems are unlikely from a single incident. The immediate effects typically include:
- Burning and stinging in the nostrils from the citric acid
- Coughing or gagging as the body tries to clear powder from the airways
- Runny nose and sneezing for minutes to hours afterward
- A bad taste draining down the back of the throat
These symptoms resolve on their own in most cases. The concern escalates if a child does this repeatedly over weeks or months, which some kids do once it becomes a social habit at school. Chronic irritation of the nasal lining, recurring sinus infections, and persistent coughing are all possible with repeated use.
When It Becomes a Bigger Problem
A child who snorts Smarties once at a sleepover is in a very different situation than one doing it daily. Repeated inhalation of any irritating powder can damage the nasal septum over time. While septum perforations are most commonly associated with cocaine use or exposure to industrial chemicals like chromium and acids, any substance that chronically irritates or reduces blood flow to the nasal tissue can contribute to erosion. Candy powder isn’t in the same league as these substances, but it’s not inert either, especially with the citric acid component.
The bigger worry for parents is often what the behavior signals. Simone and other experts have noted that snorting Smarties mimics drug use in a way that could normalize the mechanics of snorting substances. Whether that concern is warranted depends on the child, but it’s a reasonable thing to talk about.