TikTok Trend Claims to Remove the Taste of Alcohol: 'It's So Dangerous'

A new trend circulating TikTok shows people adding baking soda, salt and mineral water to a glass of their favorite alcoholic beverage claiming the combination dilutes the flavor of the alcohol itself.

In a video now viewed over 16 million times, TikTok user @chixy showed her audience the hack she calls "somewhat really dangerous."

"If you drink, or if you like to drink, this makes it a little too easy to drink," she said in the video.

She then proceeds to pour liquor into a cup full of ice, add mineral water, a pinch of baking soda and a little salt. After, someone joins her in the frame to take a sip of the drink and confirms it tastes like "nothing."

Another TikToker, @sashiesashh followed suit and tried the trend herself substituting the mineral water for regular bottled water.

"Oh my god! This! I'm confused" she said after she tastes the drink. "I'm mind blown."

"Oh that's dangerous," one of her viewers commented. "ITS SOOO DANGEROOUUUS," @sashiesashh responded.

A few commenters responded that they tried the trend and did not feel as impressed.

"I tried this and it didn't work!" one said. Another chimed in: "Don't do it lol we had a bad v bad experience"

The trend also made its way to Twitter and Reddit which led some viewers to deduce that the combination really is not something new. Baking soda, otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate, salt, and sparkling water are really just the makings of club soda, one user said, a common mix-in for hard liquor.

"Next up: "let's go crazy and mix alcohol and juice" said one Reddit user.

Another commenter on @chizy's original post proposed another fear if it does in fact work: using it on someone else.

TikTok has been the platform for various potentially dangerous trends since the app skyrocketed two years ago. As previously reported by Newsweek, one challenge that went viral earlier this year was for people to begin their videos in casual clothes before a quick transition showing just a silhouette of the person's body. It presented an issue when it was discovered that people were able to edit the TikTok videos to reveal the person's sometimes nude body.

More recently, TikTok banned the "Devious Licks" challenge, one in which students were filming themselves stealing or damaging various items from their schools. Some instances of the trend led to the arrests of students, Newsweek reported.

Newsweek contacted Columbia University and Weil Cornell Medicine but they did not respond in time for publication