The Cinnamon Spice Challenge has gone viral, and doctors are warning teens that inhaling the spice is very dangerous, evenly deadly. The fad involves daring someone to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon in 60 seconds without water. The dry nature of the cinnamon causes fits of coughing and sneezing, and while the results may be humorous, the prank presents serious health risks.

Cinnamon is caustic, and trying to gulp it down can cause choking, throat irritation, breathing trouble and even collapsed lungs.

Cinnamon is made from tree bark and contains cellulose fibers that don't easily break down, which can cause internal scarring.

Worse, if cinnamon get stuck in your lungs it may be hard to clear out and it's possible that your lungs can collapse on you. There have been several cases reported where kids needed ventilator support because they weren't able to maintain their airway.

A search for "Cinnamon Challenge" on YouTube will bring you thousands of videos of young teens challenging themselves to defeat a spoonful of cinnamon, with mostly failed attempts as orange powder spews out of their mouths much to their friends' amusement.

At least 30 teens nationwide needed medical attention after taking the challenge last year, and 222 calls to Poison Control Centers have been made so far.

Last night, ABC News did a full report on the viral challenge. It was a warning to parents, school administrators, and medical experts about the dangers of the recent fad.

Dejah Reed, a freshman at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, Mich., spent four days in the hospital with an infection and a collapsed right lung after she ingested the spice on a dare.

"She was going in and out of consciousness. She couldn't breathe. She was turning pale," her father, Fred Reed, said. "I hope parents and kids learn that it's not fun and games. She could have died."

This fad will pass, along with all of the other YouTube sensations and doctors and news reports across America will have to fight the next dangerous trend. So let's stop blaming the symptoms and get to the cause. Raise our children to be more intelligent than this!

Watch someone actually defeat the challenge as he is crowned a "Cinnamon Brother."