Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Three Hospitalized After Smoking Novelty "Atomic" Incense
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 19, 2011
Modified Apr 19, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Apr 19, 2011
Modified Apr 19, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Kids do the darndest drugs! Salvia, synthetic marijuana, bath salts. And now they are smoking incense? Over the weekend three people in Rockland County were taken to the hospital after having adverse responses from smoking a legal novelty incense called AM-HI-CO Atomic Bomb.
The first bad reaction came on Saturday night when a 19-year-old from Wisconsin went into convulsions in the garage at Palisades Mall. According to his friends he had been smoking the Atomic Bomb. When police arrived he was unresponsive and having difficulty breathing, and the young man was taken to the ICU at the Nyack Hospital. As of yesterday he was still there.
Then on Sunday police responding to a 911 hangup call in New City found two women, aged 19 and 20, inside a house in a daze. "One of the women was conscious, breathing and speaking but could not move her body. The second woman was feeling dizzy and was slightly disorientated." They too had been smoking Atomic and were taken to the Nyack Hospital. They were released later.
All three apparently bought their Atomic from the same tobacco kiosk outside of a McDonald's at the Palisades Mall where the owner promises they were warned not to smoke the stuff. Is this a new trend? "This is the first time we are seeing this," Clarkstown Detective Sgt. Tim O'Neill said. "We don't know how widespread it is."
Now, let's be clear: Smoking incense isn't illegal—it's just stupid. Especially as the package for the incense clearly states on the front "Novelty Collection Item" and the instructions on the packaging state not "to consume, ingest, imbibe or burn the contents, and if the contents is burned, not to inhale the smoke."
Tagged
atomic incense
incense
novelty incense
Nyack
palisades Mall
rockland county
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC tow companies busted for ripping off drivers must give $67K in refunds, city says
Mayor Mamdani has expanded enforcement on towing scams, but the unlicensed towing industry remains largely unregulated.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 4:47 p.m. ET
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
By
Stephen Nessen
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .