Why copying the new Maltesers advert could KILL YOU: First aid expert slams ‘deadly’ game featured and warns flicking food into people’s mouths could make them choke
- EXCLUSIVE: Nurse Emma Hammett warns playing with food is dangerous
- In the advert two friends play Tiddlywinks with Maltesers Buttons and eat them
- But throwing food into people’s mouths could end in potentially fatal choking
- Ms Hammett warns 85 per cent of choking deaths are because of food
A first aid expert has slammed the new advert for Maltesers Buttons saying people risk choking to death if they throw food into each other’s mouths.
The ad shows two women sitting at a table when one playfully flicks a chocolate button into her friend’s mouth as if they were playing Tiddlywinks.
But qualified nurse and first aid trainer Emma Hammett says trying this in real life could be a potentially fatal choking hazard.
She warns that 85 per cent of all choking deaths are caused by food and, while the game is posed as harmless fun, it could easily go wrong.
In her blog, First Aid for Life, Ms Hammett says if the ‘dangerous game’ catches on it could ‘undoubtedly’ lead to people choking to death.
But sweets company Mars, which makes the treat, has hit back saying the clip is ‘lighthearted’ and ‘playful’.
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The new advert has been posted to YouTube and is a short clip set in a coffee shop in which a woman flicks a chocolate button her friend’s mouth.
The other woman catches the button on her tongue and eats it – but the game might not always go so smoothly and people should avoid playing with food, Ms Hammett said.
She told MailOnline: ‘The new playful Maltesers chocolate buttons advert demonstrates a dangerous game that increases the risk of choking.
‘One of the adverts shows someone playing tiddlywinks and flicking a chocolate button straight into a girls mouth.
‘Should this catch on as a craze it could undoubtedly lead to fatalities from choking.’
The ad shows two people sitting at a table when one playfully flicks a chocolate button into their friend’s mouth as if they were playing Tiddlywinks
The other woman catches the button in her mouth, but Ms Hammett says trying the game in real life could be a potentially fatal choking hazard
More than eight in 10 deaths caused by choking are down to food getting stuck in the windpipe, Ms Hammett says
She says throwing anything into the air and catching it in your mouth is an ‘extremely dangerous activity’ which can be fatal.
’85 per cent of choking deaths are caused by food’
‘COMMON SENSE RULES’ TO AVOID CHOKING
Qualified nurse and first aid expert Emma Hammett has offered her own ‘common sense’ rules to avoid choking hazards while eating:
- Avoid throwing food and catching it in your mouth.
- Avoid throwing food into someone else’s mouth.
- Refrain from games or competitions involving food. The popular game ‘Chubby Bunny’ where as many marshmallows as possible are stuffed into the mouth, has proved fatal.
- Be aware of foods which lend themselves to being choking hazards, such as grapes, mini tomatoes, blueberries, popcorn and small, round sweet treats. Take extra care when eating them or cut them in half to minimise the risk of choking.
- Talking, laughing or crying with something in your mouth can also lead to choking. The sharp intake of breath which happens when you gasp, is sufficient to propel an object from your mouth and into your airway.
- Don’t eat or chew whilst exercising.
Source: First Aid for Life
More than eight in 10 deaths caused by choking – 85 per cent – are a result of food becoming stuck in the windpipe, Ms Hammett said.
People choke when something becomes lodged in or blocks their trachea – the windpipe in the throat – and stops air reaching the lungs.
Although it can be stopped by removing the blockage, choking can kill if people do not start breathing again quickly – irreversible brain damage can begin within minutes of losing oxygen.
‘Chocolates and sweets are the perfect shape and size to fit in a windpipe’
Ms Hammett added: ‘We are already aware some foods are classic choking hazards because of their size and shape, such as grapes.
‘However, many of us are unaware that chocolate and sweets can also be choking hazards for precisely the same reason – they are the perfect shape and size to be inhaled into a windpipe.
‘Choking incidents can happen quickly and be extremely worrying.
‘Many choking accidents occur simply though bad luck. Playing aiming games with sweets simply increases the risk of a choking emergency happening.’
‘We encourage consumers to take care when enjoying our products’
But the chocolate treat’s manufacturers, Mars Wrigley Confectionery, disagrees that its advert is promoting dangerous behaviour.
A spokesperson said: ‘This short lighthearted clip is part of a wider series of films featuring people showing their playful side with MALTESERS® Buttons.
‘We encourage our consumers to always take care when enjoying our products and will always listen to their feedback on our advertising.’
WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE IS CHOKING
Knowing how to react when someone is choking could save a life, says qualified nurse and first aid trainer Emma Hammett. She gives a step-by-step guide to helping adults and children over the age of one who have something stuck in their throat:
Stay calm and ask them to cough to try and remove the object themselves.
If not successful, bend them forward supporting their chest with your hand. Children can also be bent over your knee.
Use the flat of your other hand to give a sharp back blow between the shoulder blades.
Check to see the obstruction is cleared before giving another back blow. Give back blows in groups of five before checking to see if the blockage has gone.
If the back blows haven’t worked, phone 999 or 112 to call an ambulance.
Try abdominal thrusts (more commonly known as the Heimlich maneuver). Stand behind the person choking and place one hand in a fist under their rib cage. Use the other hand to pull up and under, to dislodge the obstruction. Think of it as a J-shaped motion to pull up and under their rib cage.
Perform abdominal thrusts up to five times, checking each time to see if the obstruction has cleared.
If the person is still choking, make sure an ambulance is on the way and alternate between five back blows and five abdominal thrusts until emergency help arrives.
If at any point the person becomes unconscious, start CPR.
Source: First Aid for Life
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