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"Inhalants are very volatile. You can die the first time or the fifth time from abusing inhalants. It's like playing Russian roulette...I speak to 100 to 125 parents a year whose children have died from inhalants."
What are inhalants?
Inhalants are volatile solvents or chemicals that are being misused by people to get high. [There are] about a 1,000 different products that can be misused. They can be volatile solvents or gases; they can be aerosols…and when they are used as they are not intended, they can cause significant problems for people.
Some common items abused include computer cleaner, any type of aerosol spray, butane, propane, correction fluid, spray paint, paint thinner, nail polish, and nail polish remover-those are just some of the products that can be misused.
Are inhalants drugs or poisons or do they straddle the two different categories?
Inhalants can be considered a drug because they alter a person's perception of the world around them; they affect the brain. However, these are common household products that are being misused and just like any product that's being misused, they become considered a poison. One of the things we determined through focus groups, down to about the second and third grade and also with adults, was that the concept of 'poisons' rang truer with them than any other definition of the term-so that's why [NIPC] has linked inhalants to poisons. Young people from a very early age understand what poisons are-and-adults feel very comfortable talking about poisons...so we felt very comfortable using that type of approach.
Is there a typical profile of an inhalant abuser?
No. Any child is a potential user. The problem is that young people don't understand the consequences of using these substances because a lot of times people just don't talk about it. So our goal is two-fold: one, to educate young people about the potential dangers of misusing these products and two, to provide information and resources to adults-be they parents, educators, physicians or any other group-to let them know what inhalants are and [about] the dangers of inhalants so they can communicate that to young people.
What are the potential effects of inhalant use?
As mentioned previously, users can die during any use-even the first time. Other effects of inhalant use include short-term memory loss, hearing loss, limb spasms, permanent brain damage, bone marrow damage, liver and kidney damage, possible fetal effects similar to fetal alcohol syndrome, and intoxication
Do you think or feel that parents really believe inhalant abuse is serious?
A lot of times I hear parents whose child has died from inhalants say, "I didn't think my child would abuse inhalants so I never talked to them about it." The problem is-and there has been significant research in this area-that parents are very aware that inhalants can be very dangerous, if not fatal, but many do not believe that their child would use an inhalant. If they don't think their child would do it, they tend not to talk about it. [A study] was done by the University of Kentucky that found 9 out of 10 parents do not believe that their child would use an inhalant.
How do you convey the message to parents that it might be-in fact-their child who abuses inhalants?
One of the critical [ways] is the National Inhalants and Poison Awareness Week, which gets information out to the community that [inhalant abuse] is a potential problem. [Our organization also] sends materials out to school districts and to church groups and parent organizations that lets them know this is a potential danger. Unfortunately, what usually is the initiator of interest in the problem is when there's a fatality in the community. Some of the greatest advocates have been parents who have lost their children to inhalant abuse.
For parents who really want to talk about this to their kids, what do you recommend? How do you recommend that parents approach their kids?
Arm yourself with good information and begin to talk to your child about the potential dangers. Characterize it as a poison to the child. I think that is the most effective way of getting the message across. Start when you first start talking to your child about poisons (when they are 2 or 3 years old), saying that you shouldn't drink or eat or swallow certain things because it can poison you. Then I would also say that in addition to not drinking, eating or swallowing these products, don't sniff them.
As with any substance, as you get to 12 and 13 years old, you're really not talking prevention anymore; you're talking about intervention. Kids pretty much know what they're going to do at that age.
What are some of the signs that may indicate a child is abusing inhalants?
Any sign of intoxication. If their clothes or breath smell like chemicals. If they have aerosol cans around their room or in their backpack. If they're not a smoker-or even if they are a smoker-a lot of butane lighters around their room. Other symptoms include paint or stains on body or clothing; spots or sores around the mouth; red or runny eyes or nose; drunk, dazed or dizzy appearance; nausea and loss of appetite; and anxiety, excitability and/or irritability.
What is the typical age of first use for inhalants?
Typical age is around 12 or 13. Inhalants are oftentimes the first drug kids experiment with, sometimes even before alcohol [because] it's available and easy to get. [And] the products are legal. More kids have used inhalants than the number of kids who have experimented with Ecstasy and OxyContin® combined.
Do more boys than girls use inhalants?
As far as fatalities are concerned, most that come to our attention are males, but what we are seeing in the statistics at hand is that boys and girls are abusing inhalants at the same rate. In some incidences, in some communities and even states, we're seeing that females are using more than males, but generally we are seeing an equality of abuse at this point.
Do you ever talk to past abusers about their reasons for doing inhalants?
It's very similar to what I was explaining earlier-they didn't realize the potential dangers of it, nobody talked to them about it.
For more information about inhalant abuse, please visit the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition's Web site at www.inhalants.org or click here.
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