Inhalants are breathable
chemical vapors that produce psychoactive (mind-altering) effects. A
variety of products commonplace in the home and in the workplace contain
substances that can be inhaled. Many people do not think of these products,
such as spray paint, glues, and cleaning fluids, as drugs because they
were never meant to be used to achieve an intoxicating effect. Yet,
young children and adolescents can easily obtain them and are among
those most likely to abuse these extremely toxic substances. Parents
should monitor household products closely to prevent accidental inhalation
by very young children. Inhalants fall into the following categories:
- Solvents
- Industrial
or household solvents or solvent-containing products, including
paint thinners or solvents, degreasers (dry-cleaning fluids),
gasoline, and glue
- Art or
office supply solvents, including correction fluids, felt-tip-marker
fluid, and electronic contact cleaners
- Gases
- Gases
used in household or commercial products, products, including
butane lighters and propane tanks, whipping cream aerosols or
dispensers (whippets), and refrigerant gases
- Household
aerosol propellants and associated solvents in items such
as spray paints, hair or deodorant sprays, and fabric protector
sprays
- Medical
anesthetic gases, such as ether, chloroform, halothane, and
nitrous oxide ("laughing gas")
- Nitrites
- Aliphatic
nitrites, including cyclohexyl nitrite, which is available
to the general public; amyl nitrite, which is available only by
prescription; and butyl nitrite which is now an illegal substance.
Health Hazards
Although they differ
in makeup, nearly all abused inhalants produce short-term effects similar
to anesthetics, which act to slow down the body's functions. When inhaled
via the nose or mouth into the lungs in sufficient concentrations, inhalants
can cause intoxicating effects. Intoxication usually lasts only a few
minutes. However, sometimes users extend this effect for several hours
by breathing in inhalants repeatedly. Initially, users may feel slightly
stimulated. Successive inhalations make them feel less inhibited and
less in control. If use continues, users can lose consciousness.
Sniffing highly
concentrated amounts of the chemicals in solvents or aerosol sprays
can directly induce heart failure and death within minutes of a session
of prolonged use. This syndrome, known as "sudden sniffing death," can
result from a single session of inhalant use by an otherwise healthy
young person. Sudden sniffing death is particularly associated with
the abuse of butane, propane, and chemicals in aerosols.
High concentrations
of inhalants also can cause death from suffocation by displacing oxygen
in the lungs and then in the central nervous system so that breathing
ceases. Deliberately inhaling from an attached paper or plastic bag
or in a closed area greatly increases the chances of suffocation. Even
when using aerosols or volatile products for their legitimate purposes
(i.e., painting, cleaning), it is wise to do so in a well-ventilated
room or outdoors.
Chronic abuse of
solvents can cause severe, long-term damage to the brain, the liver
and the kidneys. Harmful irreversible effects that may be caused by
abuse of specific solvents include:
- Hearing loss
- toluene (paint sprays, glues, dewaxers) and trichloroethylene (cleaning
fluids, correction fluids)
- Peripheral neuropathies
or limb spasms - hexane (glues, gasoline) and nitrous oxide (whipping
cream, gas cylinders)
- Central nervous
system or brain damage - toluene (paint sprays, glues, dewaxers)
- Bone marrow damage
- benzene (gasoline).
Serious but potentially
reversible effects include:
- Liver and kidney
damage - toluene-containing substances and chlorinated hydrocarbons
(correction fluids, dry-cleaning fluids)
- Blood oxygen
depletion - organic nitrites (poppers, bold, and rush)
and methylene chloride (varnish removers, paint thinners).
Abuse of amyl and
butyl nitrites has been associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), the most
common cancer reported among AIDS patients. Early studies of KS showed
that many people with KS had used volatile nitrites. Researchers are
continuing to explore the hypothesis of nitrites as a factor contributing
to the development of KS in HIV-infected people.
Extent of Use
Initial use of inhalants
often starts early. Some young people may use inhalants as a cheap,
accessible substitute for alcohol. Research suggests that chronic or
long-term inhalant abusers are among the most difficult drug abuse patients
to treat. Many suffer from cognitive impairment and other neurological
dysfunction and may experience multiple psychological and social problems.
Monitoring
the Future Study (MTF)*
NIDA's nationwide
annual survey of drug use among the Nation's 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-graders
indicates that inhalant use for 8th- and 10th-graders appears to have
peaked in 1995, and in 1990 for 12th-graders, and has declined since
then. In 2002, lifetime, past year, and past month inhalant use among
8th and 10th-graders was the lowest seen in the history of the survey
and the lowest in about 20 years for high school seniors.
In 2002, a persistent
pattern of higher rates of use by younger children continued as more
8th-graders than 10th- or 12th- graders said they used inhalants. However,
the percentage of 8th-graders who said they had ever used inhalants
decreased from 17.1 percent in 2001 to 15.2 percent in 2002. This represents
a substantial decline from the peak year of 1995 when 21.6 percent of
8th graders said they had used inhalants during their lifetimes.
Inhalant Use
by Students, 2002:
Monitoring the Future Study
| |
8th-Graders |
10th-Graders |
12th-Graders |
| Ever
Used |
15.2% |
13.5% |
11.7% |
| Used
in Past Year |
7.7 |
5.8 |
4.5 |
| Used
in Past Month |
3.8 |
2.4 |
1.5 |
National
Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA)**
NHSDA data show
that, 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. As in 2000, highest past year
use was among 14- and 15-year-olds, with 4.2 percent of this population
reporting having used inhalants in the year preceding the survey.
Inhalant use in the month before the survey was also highest among
this age group, at 1.3 percent. Past-month use did not statistically
significant increases among 12- and 13-year-olds and 18- and 20-year-olds
(both at 0.9 percent in 2001), although it dipped for 16- and 17-year-olds
(from 1.0 percent to 0.7 percent).
