The Dangers of Baby Powder at Football Games

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Sara Turner, Writer

Many people want and are asking for baby powder to be brought back at the football games as shows of hype and spirit, but do not know the risks behind its justified removal. When baby powder is used at football games, powder shoots into the air, diffusing and creating a cloud that stays over the stadium and drifts off into other sections.

The main ingredients of baby powder are Talcum powder and/or cornstarch. Talcum powder is a refined mineral known as Talc. It can be poisonous if inhaled or swallowed, which either or both can occur when the cloud at the football games is formed. Symptoms of Talcum powder in the lungs can include chest pain, cough, difficulty breathing, lung failure, rapid, shallow breathing, and wheezing.

Don’t these things sound wonderful? Aren’t they definitely worth the risk of sickness, hospitalization, or possibly death?

Even without Talcum powder, cornstarch is still a lung irritant and can cause breathing problems. This article talked about the effects of powders on the lungs. “You will start coughing because there is something unwanted in your bronchial tubes,” and “[the bottles of powder] come with a bold type warning that says “AVOID INHALATION.”

Fallon Little, a member of the color guard, recounted a game: “It caused me to have a breathing attack… [and] to sit out at halftime because I felt faint” and “Another band member had to go into the ambulance due to an allergic reaction.”

Baby powder not only affects health of students, it also affects school property, namely the band uniforms. This season one Alabama band’s uniforms were entirely ruined by their student section, which our band cannot afford to happen

Although baby powder is fun and raises hype, the risks are too serious to consider allowing it.