From the One Chip Challenge to YouTubes Hot Ones, spicy food challenges are under scrutiny

But extremely spicy products created and marketed solely for the challenges – and possible internet fame – is a more recent phenomenon, and teens are particularly exposed to them because of social media, associate professor of psychology at Florida International University Elisa Trucco says.

There is a “glamorisation of these challenges on social media”, Trucco said. “You see a lot of ‘likes’ or comments [indicating] social status or popularity from these challenges, but you don’t see a lot of the negative consequences – like the trips to the ER or other injuries.”

Alexander DePaoli, an associate professor of marketing at Northeastern University in Boston, added that people may put themselves through discomfort and share it online for a sense of “in-group belonging”, similar to offline challenges as a game of truth or dare.

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A YouTube series called “Hot Ones”, for example, rose to internet fame several years ago with videos of celebrities’ reactions to eating spicy wings.

Meanwhile, restaurants across the United States continue to offer in-person challenges – from chain restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings’ “Blazin’ Challenge” to the “Hell Challenge” of Wing King in Las Vegas.

In both challenges, patrons over 18 can attempt to eat a certain amount of wings doused in extra hot sauce in limited time without drinking or eating other food.

Chilli pepper eating contests are also regularly hosted around the world. Last year, a Californian man ate 10 Carolina Reaper chillies, which Guinness World Records has named the hottest in the world, in a record time of 33.15 seconds.

In most cases, people will choose to participate in challenges that they are trained for or do not consider to be truly dangerous. But a line is crossed when someone gets hurt, DePaoli noted.

The product, manufactured by Paqui, instructs participants to eat the chip and see how long they can go without consuming other food and water.

Sales of the chip seem largely driven by people posting videos on social media of them or their friends taking the challenge. They show people, including teens and children, eating the chips and then reacting to the heat. Some videos show people gagging, coughing and begging for water.

Since Wolobah’s death, Paqui has asked retailers to stop selling the product, and some health experts have pointed to the potential dangers of eating such spicy products under certain circumstances, depending on the amount of capsaicin, a component that gives chilli peppers their heat, they contain.

But there are plenty of similar products that remain online and on store shelves, including Red Hot Reaper’s One Chip Challenge, Blazing Foods’ Death Nut Challenge and Tube of Terror Challenge as well as Wilder Toys’ Hot Ones Truth or Dab sauce game.

DePaoli said it is not unusual for companies to engage in viral marketing.

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“It is unusual, however, to have something where the brand actually wants you to put something into your body,” he said. Companies “don’t want to be liable for that”.

Despite warnings or labels specifying adult use only, the products can still get into the hands of young people who might not understand the risks, Trucco added.

“There’s a reason why these challenges are appealing,” she said. “This type of marketing sells.”

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