Seven young children were hospitalized after they ingested nicotine gum at a school in Fort Lauderdale Friday morning.
The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. at Jaclyn Academy, a private school on Southwest 27th Avenue, officials said.
"Upon arrival we were told by staff here at the facility that there were seven children that had ingested the substance which we later found out was Nicorette gum," Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan said.
The children, who are between the ages of nine and 11, were taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where they were expected to be okay. They suffered from symptoms including chest palpitations and anxiety.
"Apparently one of the children took the pills at school and they wanted to share with everybody else and they tried to compete how many they were able to take so all the kids are basically stable but one of them is a little more symptomatic than others but I think they’re gonna do well," Broward Health's Dr. Hector Ortiz said. "This is an important reminder that medications, they have to kept in a place where they cannot reach them."
Officials said they're unsure how the gum wound up at the school.
Check back with NBC 6 for updates.
7 kids sent to the hospital after ingesting #Nicotine mints at Jacklyn Academy in #FortLauderdale. More on @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/IBNplj1cDU
— Amanda Plasencia (@AmandaNBC6) September 14, 2018
