July 6, 2017 -- A snortable chocolate powder called Coco Loko is raising questions in the medical community.
The product, which is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, first appeared on store shelves about a month ago.
"The question is, what are the risks of doing it?" Dr. Andrew Lane, director of the Johns Hopkins Sinus Center, told the Washington Post. "There's no data, and as far as I can tell, no one's studied what happens if you inhale chocolate into your nose. When I mention it to people, nobody's ever heard of it."
Health experts have long voiced concerns about the health risks of energy drinks, which contain stimulants and have been shown to increase blood pressure and cause heart palpitations. Those effects could be magnified if a person inhales a stimulant, according to Lane.
"There are a few obvious concerns," he told the Post.
"First, it's not clear how much of each ingredient would be absorbed into the nasal mucus membranes. And, well, putting solid material into your nose -- you could imagine it getting stuck in there, or the chocolate mixing with your mucus to create a paste that could block your sinuses," Lane said.