News Flash: Turns Out Doing the Cinnamon Challenge Is Really, Really, Really Bad For Your Lungs

It’s been a hot second since attempting to dry-swallow a tablespoon of cinnamon was considered “hip” and “funny,” and while that most likely has got something to do with the internet’s ever-dwindling attention span, it could also just be that practically choking on tiny grains of spicy sand actually kind of hurts, a lot.

A new study published in the medical journal Pediatrics reports that, in addition to the teary eyes and burning throats that anyone who’s tried the challenge is already pretty familiar with, repeated attempts may result in “long-lasting lesions, scarring and inflammation of the airway,” or even collapsed lungs, according to USA Today.

This is because cinnamon is made up of cellulose fibers that don’t dissolve or biodegrade in the lungs, so not only have you got that awful dry, sputtering feeling in your mouth, you’ve also got a veritable sand storm just building up in your insides. Mother News Network also reports that Cinnamaldehyde, the compound that makes cinnamon taste like cinnamon, is often used as a pesticide and fungicide and that the EPA warns of acute toxicity, eye irritation and skin irritation when using it.

The team behind the study blamed the dare’s popularity on the internet, particularly over the course of the past year, which saw over 2.4 million Google hits just in the first half of 2012 alone, according to the LA Times.

Granted, since it seems the world has moved onto the Condom Challenge, this study may be too little too late, though chances are we the media have just upped the street cred of everyone who’s ever successfully completed the damn thing, as well as given a whole new generation of netizens another reason to try it again tonight. Oops?*

H/T Consumerist, USA Today + Picthx Hello Celebs

*Foodbeast does not condone intentionally trying to spice-choke yourself for the lulz.