the truth about inhalants

8/9/2019 The Truth About Inhalants

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Snappers

Shoot the breeze

the truth about

drugfreeworld.org


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WHY THIS BOOKLETWAS PRODUCED

There is a lot of talk about drugs in the worldon the streets, at school,on the Internet and TV. Some of it is true, some not.Much of what you hear about drugs actually comes from those sellingthem. Reformed drug dealers have confessed they would have saidanything to get others to buy drugs.

Dont be fooled. You need facts to avoid becoming hooked on drugs andto help your friends stay off them. That is why we have prepared thisbookletfor you.

Your feedback is important to us, so we look forward to hearing fromyou. You can visit us on the web at drufreeworld.or and email usat [email protected].


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I

nhalants refers to the vapors fromtoxic substances which are inhaled to

reach a quick high. Of more than 1,000household and other common productsthat could be abused as inhalants, mostoften used are shoe polish, glue, toluene,*gasoline, lighter fluid, nitrous oxide orwhippets, spray paint, correction fluid,cleaning fluid, amyl nitrite or poppers,locker room deodorizers or rush, andlacquer thinner or other paint solvents.

Most of these produce effects similarto anesthetics, which slow down thebodys functions. After an initial highand loss of inhibition comes drowsiness,lightheadedness and agitation.

The chemicals are rapidly absorbedthrough the lungs into the bloodstream andquickly reach the brain and other organs,

sometimes causing irreversible physicaland mental damage.

Users inhale the chemical vaporsdirectly from open containers (sniffing)or breathe the fumes from rags soakedin chemicals (huffing). Some spraythe substance directly into the noseor mouth, or pour it onto their collar,sleeves or cuffs and sniff them

periodically. In bagging, the usermay inhale fumes from substancesinside a paper or plastic bag. Baggingin a closed area greatly increases thechances of suffocation.

Poppers and whippets, soldat concerts and dance clubs, arecomposed of poisonous chemicalsthat can permanently damage thebody and brain.

* toluene: a colorless liquid used as a solvent and a fuel. nitrous oxide: a colorless, sweetsmelling gas used as

an anesthetic.

amyl nitrite: a pale yellow liquid used to openor widen blood vessels, sometimes abused asan inhalant.

WhatareInhalants?


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7Air blast7Highball7 Satans secret7Ames7Hippie crack7 Shoot the

breeze7Amys7Huff7 Snappers

7Aroma of men7 Laughing gas7 Snotballs7 Bolt7 Locker room7 Spray7 Boppers7Medusa7Texas shoe shine7 Bullet

7Moon gas7 Thrust7 Bullet bolt7Oz7 Toilet water7 Buzz bomb7 Pearls7 Toncho7Discorama7 Poor mans pot

7Whippets7Hardware7 Poppers7Whiteout7Hearton7Quicksilver

7Hiagra in abottle

7 Rush snappers

street namesforInhalants


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It was a steady proression fromlue sniffin, as sniffin, maicmushrooms, that went on until I was

17. Then I started on cannabis. I was

spendin my money on as muchcannabis as I could et my hands on.

Then I was old enouh to o into the

clubs, so I started there on amphetamines

and Ecstasy. . . .

I bean hanin out with people who were

takin heroin, and soon I was usin it moreand more until I was addicted. I had no idea

then the damae it would cause me later . . .

that I would be servin one prison sentence

after another, burlarizin peoples houses,

stealin from my family. All the pain and

heartache that I have caused was worsethan stealin the material thins from

them. Dennis


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When I was in fourth radea socalled friend of mineintroduced me to inhalants. Bein

so youn and not knowin any

better, I started huffin asevery day all the way up to

my eihth rade year. My

motor function skills are

pretty much shot and I

sit for hours on end

just starin intospace without a

sinle thouht

even crossin

my mind.

Its like my

body is

here but

I am not. I have a

hard time holdin

down jobs and I have

been livin by myself

now for twelve years.I look normal

from the outside

but when I try to

show interest and

talk to women, it

becomes apparentthat I am pretty much

a veetable. I am sick

of livin this way and I would

rather be dead than to live my life

like this anymore, because it seems

like Im already dead anyway.

John


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Inhalant use can causedamage to the heart, kidneys,brain, liver, bone marrow and

other organs.

7 Inhalants starve the body of

oxygen and force the heartto beat irregularly and morerapidly.

7 Users can experience nauseaand nosebleeds and lose theirsense of hearing or smell.Chronic use can lead to muscle

wasting and reduced muscletone, and the poisonouschemicals gradually damagethe lungs and the immunesystem.

7An inhalant user risks SuddenSniffing Death Syndrome.Death can occur the firsttime or the 100th time aninhalant is used.

affectyourbody?

hoWdoInhalants


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most inhalants act directly on the nervous system to produce

mindalterin effects. Within seconds, the user experiencesintoxication and other effects similar to those from alcohol.

There are a variety of effects that may be experienced durinor shortly after use, includin:

7 Slurred speech7 Drunk, dizzy or dazed

appearance

7 Inability to coordinatemovement

7 Hallucinations anddelusions

7 Hostility7 Apathy7 Impaired judment7 Unconsciousness

7 Severe headaches7 Rashes around the nose

and mouth

7 Proloned sniffin ofthese chemicals caninduce irreular and

rapid heart beat andlead to heart failureand death withinminutes.

7 Death from suffocationcan occur by replacinoxyen in the lunswith the chemical,

and then in the centralnervous system, so thatbreathin ceases.

short-term effects


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chronic exposure to inhalants canproduce sinificant, sometimesirreversible, damae to the heart,

luns, liver and kidneys.

The chronic use of inhalants has beenassociated with a number of serious healthproblems. Sniffin lue and paint thinner

causes kidney problems. Sniffin tolueneand other solvents causes liver damae.Inhalant abuse has also resulted in memoryimpairment and diminished intellience.

7 Muscle weakness7 Disorientation7 Lack of coordination7 Irritability7 Depression7 Serious and sometimes irreversible

damae to the heart, liver, kidneys,luns and brain

7 Memory impairment,diminished intellience

7 Hearin loss7 Bone marrow damae7 Deaths from heart

failure or asphyxiation(loss of oxyen)

Lonterm users have

experienced:

long-term effects


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tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of

our son Justins death. He was 16. Hedied from inhalin air freshener, an act

of inhalant abuse. His senseless death

rocked the worlds of all who knew

him. Justin was an honors student

who loved life and embraced it

with enthusiasm. . . . He wasa source of inspiration for

many. . . . I will always be

haunted by the question

of whether Justin would

be with us today had he

known about the risks

he was takin.

Jackie

10


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nhalants can be physicallyand psychologically addictive. Users

report a strong urge to continue using inhalants,especially after continued usage over many days.

Habitual users coming off inhalants sufferwithdrawal symptoms which can include

nausea, excessive sweating, muscle cramps,headaches, chills, agitation, with shaking andhallucinations. In severe cases, withdrawal can

cause convulsions.

addIctIve?

are Inhalants


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auS srvy, cmining d frm 2002 2006, fnd nnnl vrg f 593,000 ns gd 12 17 d sd inlnsfr firs im in yr fr y k srvy.

7 Mr n 22.9 millin amricns v xprimnd wiinlns sm pin in ir livs.

7on s in uS vrgd mr n 3,800 mrgncyrm visis nd 450 spilizins yr d inln pisnings, ccrding sisicsrlsd in 2008.

7 by im sdns in uS rc 8 grd,n in fiv will v sd inlns. In 2007, inlns

wr ssnc ms frqnly sd y ygd 12 r 13.

7 22% f inln srs w did f SddnSniffing D Syndrm d n isry f prvisinln sy wr firsim srs.

InternatIonalstatIstIcs


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7 accrding erpn SclPrjc n alcl nd or Drgs,20% f y in 12 16 g grpv rid inlns.

7In Niri, Kny, n simd60,000 cildrn liv n srs ndlms ll r ddicd sm sr finln.

7 In Pkisni ciy f Krci rr n simd 14,000 sr kids,f wm 80% 90% sniff gl

r slvns.7 In uS, 2006 Ninl Srvy

n Drg us nd hl fnd 1.1 millin ys gd 12 17 dsd inlns in ps yr.

InKarachi,Pakistan,

80%to90%ofstreetkidssniffglue or

solvents.

22%ofinhalantabusers whodiedhadnohistoryofprevious

inhalantabuse.

8090%

22%


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f

or three days, a friend ave me lue

free of cost. On the fourth day heasked for money from me. By then, I was

addicted and I had to ive him money to

et a tube of lue. I needed several tubes

of lue daily. Marty


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Inhalants can be categorized into four different types:

that vaporize at room temperatures. These are found innumerous easily available household and industrial products

including paint thinners, degreasers, gasoline, glues, correctionfluids and felttip marker fluids.

such as spray paints, deodorant and hair sprays,

vegetable oil sprays for cooking and fabric protector sprays.

including medical anesthetics (ether, chloroform and nitrous oxide,commonly called laughing gas), butane lighters, propane tanks,

whipped cream dispensers and refrigerants.

(a chemical compound found in food preservatives, leathercleaner, room deodorizers, etc.) are considered a special class

of inhalants which act directly on the central nervous system, brain andspinal cord. They are used mainly as sexual enhancers and are commonlyknown as poppers or snappers.

dIfferenttypes

ofInhalants

lIquIds

sprays

gases

nItrIt

es


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Iactually found myselftalkingtowhat I call gas buddies (thehallucinations). One day I was huffing and I thought myfriend

died because the hallucinationofhim cametome.

I foundmyselfhuffing not only for thevisuals, but for thecompanyofthese imaginaryfriends that would come to me

whenI would start to huff. I have beenstruggling with thisaddiction for about 7 months now. Erin


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although inhalants are not regulated under the Controlled Substances Act,

38 states in the US have placed restrictions on the sale and distribution tominors of certain products that are commonly abused as inhalants. Some

states have introduced fines, incarceration or mandatory treatment for thesale, distribution, use and/or possession of inhalant chemicals.

Laws also exist in some US states prohibiting the recreational inhalation ofnitrous oxide.

Some communities in Western Australia and South Australia have passedlocal laws making petrol sniffing an offense. In Victoria and Western Australia,police are allowed to search a person who is reasonably believed to be inpossession of an inhalant and confiscate it.

In England and Wales, it is illegal for retailers to sell volatile substances toanyone under the age of 18 if there is reason to believe they will use it forinhalation and intoxication purposes.

areInhalantslegal?


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he inhaling of fumes from chemicals such as incense, oils, resins,spices and perfumes to alter consciousness, or as part of religious

ceremonies, dates back to ancient times in Egypt, Babylonia(presentday Iraq), India and China.

According to some researchers, inhaling gas vapors to alter ones stateof consciousness was practiced by priestesses at the Oracle of Delphi*in ancient Greece.

In the early 1800s, nitrous oxide, ether and chloroform were theanesthetics used commonly as intoxicants.

Nitrous oxide was regarded as a cheap substitute for alcoholand was popularized by the British scientist Sir Humphry

Davy. He held nitrous oxide parties and coined the wordlaughing gas in 1799. Noting the anesthetic effects,Davy proposed that the gas could be used for operations,although this was not tried for another half century.

The use of anesthetics for recreational purposescontinued throughout the 19th century in Europe andthe US.

* The Greeks believed that the god Apollo spoke to priestesses through theOracle of Delphi, an ancient shrine.

Inhalants


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HumphryDavySir

Ether was used as a

recreational drug during the1920s Prohibition era, whenalcohol was made illegal inthe US.

In the 1940s, recreational useof solvents, primarily gasoline,became popular.

Abuse of inhalants in the United States increasedin the 1950s and is now widespread amongadolescents.

By the 1960s, the practice of solvent sniffinghad spread across a wide variety of commercialproducts including paint and lacquer thinners, nailpolish remover, shoe polish, lighter fluid, spraypaint and others.

In more recent years, glue and gas sniffing has

become a widespread problem among homelessstreet children in South Asia, Mexico, EasternEurope, Kenya and other areas around the world.Street kids use these inhalants to numb the painof hunger, cold and desperation.

Gas and spray paint sniffing is alsocommon in remote regions

in Canada, America,Australia, NewZealand andsome PacificIslands.

ashorthIstory


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The Truth

About DrusDrugs are essentially poisons. The amounttaken determines the effect.A small amount acts as a stimulant (speeds youup). A greater amount acts as a sedative (slowsyou down). An even larger amount poisons andcan kill.

This is true of any drug. Only the amount neededto achieve the effect differs.

But many drugs have another liability: theydirectly affect the mind. They can distort theusers perception of what is happening around

him or her. As a result, the persons actionsmay be odd, irrational, inappropriate and evendestructive.

Drugs block off all sensations, the desirable oneswith the unwanted. So, while providing shorttermhelp in the relief of pain, they also wipe out abilityand alertness and muddy ones thinking.

Medicines are drugs that are intended to speedup or slow down or change something about theway your body is working, to try to make it workbetter. Sometimes they are necessary. But theyare still drugs: they act as stimulants or sedatives,and too much can kill you. So if you do not usemedicines as they are supposed to be used, theycan be as dangerous as illegal drugs.


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t rl nswr is g

fcs nd n k drgsin firs plc.


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People take drugs because they want tochange something in their lives.

Here are some of the reasons youngpeople have given for taking drugs:

To fit in

To escape or relax

To relieve boredom

To seem grown up

To rebel

To experiment

They think drugs are a solution. Buteventually, the drugs become the

problem.Difficult as it may be to face onesproblems, the consequences of drug useare always worse than the problem oneis trying to solve with them. The realanswer is to get the facts and not totake drugs in the first place.

WHY DO PEOPLE TAKE DRUgS?


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REFERENCES

Inhalant Abuse, NationalInstitute on Drug Abuse

Inhalants Pose Health Threatto Teens, Iowa Department ofPublic Health, 24 Mar 2008

Inhalant Use across theAdolescent Years, NationalSurvey on Drug Use and Health,13 Mar 2008

National Inhalant AbuseTaskforce Final Report,Melbourne, Australia, Nov 2005

Inhalants, Timothy Kaufman,M.D., emedicine.com, 9 Jul 2007

About Inhalants, NationalInhalant Prevention Coalition

Intelligence Brief: Huffing,National Drug IntelligenceCenter, Nov 2001

Inhalants: Description/Overview, U.S. DrugEnforcement Administration

Inhalant Abuse, NationalInstitute on Drug Abuse ResearchReport Series

HuffingInhalants, NationalEducation Foundation of America

NIDA InfoFacts: InhalantsNational Institute on Drug Abuse

PHOTO CREDITS:Page 4 (glue): BigStockPhotoPage 7: Thomas TammPage 8: Chadwick MeyersPage 14: iStockphotoPage 18: Talaria Enterprises

Millions of copies of booklets such asthis have been distributed to peoplearound the world in 22 languages. Asnew drugs appear on the streets and mor

information about their effects becomeknown, existing booklets are updated annew ones created.

The booklets are published by theFoundation for a DrugFree World, anonprofit public benefit organizationheadquartered in Los Angeles, California

The Foundation provides educationalmaterials, advice and coordination for itsinternational drug prevention network.It works with youth, parents, educators,volunteer organizations and governmenagenciesanyone with an interest in

helping people lead lives free from drugabuse.


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For more information or to obtain more copiesof this or other booklets in this series, contact:

Foundation for a DrugFree World

1626 N. Wilcox Avenue, #1297

Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA

drugfreeworld.org email: [email protected]

Phone: 1888 NO TO DRUGS (1888 6686378)

FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW

This booklet is one in a series of publications that cover the facts about marijuana, alcohol,

Ecstasy, cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal meth and methamphetamine, inhalants, heroin,

LSD and prescription drug abuse. Armed with this information, the reader can make thedecision to live a drugfree life.

2008 Foundation for a DrugFree World. All Rights Reserved. The Foundation logo is a trademark owned by theFoundation for a DrugFree World. Item #C6231 USENG

TM

the truth about inhalants

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