Cinnamon Challenge Could Result in Lung Disease like Emphysema – Mythbusters Cinnamon Challenge

A spoonful of cinnamon is not like a spoonful of sugar.  Cinnamon is an irritant, and it's hydrophilic, which means it soaks up water, or in this case, your saliva, which makes it darn near impossible to swallow. If you can't swallow you can't breathe, then your gag reflex will kick in and you'll spit out this cinnamon dust.  If you breath that into your lungs you could end up getting Emphysema.  According to NBC news last year poison control centers in the U.S. GOT 222 calls about people who'd tried swallowing cinnamon, and 30 teenagers were hospitalized last year from the cinnamon challenge.  Even the Mythbusters have looked into this.