Between 2000 and 2001, the number of people age 12 and older having used inhalants at least once in their lifetime rose by roughly 1.5 million, to over 18 million users.2
Approximately 20 percent of eighth-graders have abused inhalants with about 6 percent of U.S. children having tried inhalants by the time they reached fourth grade.1
Inhaling dangerous products is becoming one of the most widespread problems in the country. It is as popular as marijuana with young people.2
Ongoing inhalant abuse is associated with failure in school, delinquency, and an inability to achieve societal adjustment. There is evidence that withdrawal symptoms can occur and that inhalant abuse can lead to the abuse of other substances.3
The most commonly abused inhalants are aliphatic, aromatic, or halogenated hydrocarbons. Chemicals from these groups are found in thousands of commonly used and readily available consumer products. Almost all pressurized aerosol products can be abused, because their propellants are volatile hydrocarbons.3
Prolonged sniffing of the highly concentrated chemicals in solvents or aerosol sprays can induce irregular and rapid heart rhythms and lead to heart failure and death within minutes of a session of prolonged sniffing.1
The most significant toxic effect of chronic exposure to inhalants is widespread and long-lasting damage to the brain and other parts of the nervous system.1
Symptoms exhibited by long-term inhalant abusers include weight loss, muscle weakness, disorientation, inattentiveness, lack of coordination, irritability, and depression.1
Research Excerpts
"Inhalant abuse is the intentional inhalation of a volatile substance for the purpose of achieving a euphoric state. It is also known as solvent abuse, volatile substance abuse, glue sniffing, sniffing, and huffing. Beginning with children as young as 6 years of age, it is an underrecognized form of substance abuse with a significant morbidity and mortality."3
"The fumes of the product may be inhaled directly from a container, plastic bag, or saturated rag. Inhalation is usually through the mouth, with several deep inspirations required to produce euphoria. Inhalants are depressants and are pharmacologically related to anesthetic gases. In fact, some anesthetic gases, such as ether and nitrous oxide, are also abused. The immediate effects of inhalant abuse are similar to the early classic stages of anesthesia. The user is initially stimulated, uninhibited, and prone to impulsive behavior. Speech becomes slurred, and the user's gait becomes staggered. Euphoria, frequently with hallucinations, is followed by drowsiness and sleep, particularly after repeated cycles of inhalation."3
Media Quotes
"Inhalants were blamed for the deaths of more than 700 teenagers between 1994 and 2001, said Harvey Weiss, executive director of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, an Austin, Texas-based advocacy group."4
"One of them was Christopher Johnson Bryant, a 17-year-old high school student in Tennessee who died in 2001 from inhaling two cans of butane he had bought from a local store. With an enlarged color photo of her son looking on, his mother urged other students to stay away from inhalants."4
