Don't cook chicken in NyQuil, FDA warns after TikTok challenge

Cooking chicken in cough medicine NyQuil is not only silly and unappetising but can also be very unsafe, the US Food and Drug Administration said, following the "sleepy chicken" TikTok challenge.

A number of videos challenged people to cook chicken in NyQuil, which contains acetaminophen, dextromethorphan and doxylamine, or another similar over-the-counter cough and cold medication, according to the FDA.

Boiling medicine can make it much more concentrated and change its properties in other ways, the FDA said in a notice dated Sept. 15.

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"Even if you don't eat the chicken, inhaling the medication's vapours while cooking could cause high levels of the drugs to enter your body. It could also hurt your lungs."

This is not the first time the FDA has warned against social media challenges that use non-prescription medicine.

In September 2020, a similar warning was issued by the FDA after reports of teenagers getting admitted to emergency rooms or dying after participating in the "Benadryl Challenge" on the short-video app.