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The Childhood Drug Abuse Epidemic No One is Talking About

If you were walking along the streets of a town in Morocco and came across a small empty tube of bicycle repair glue, chances are good that the cement wasn’t used to repair a tire. More likely is that an adolescent, around 13 – 15 years old, used the glue to get high. And in economically depressed cities around the world, he is just one of hundreds of thousands of children doing the same.

Solvent abuse (or what is often called "huffing" or “glue sniffing”) refers to the inhalation of any volatile chemical solvent, including those found in paint thinner, tire glue, nail polish, hairspray and even White Out. In low doses, the solvents cause euphoria akin to temporary drunkenness;…

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Featured

 A cheap high that never went away, huffing has caused many tragedies

"They're in a fog," he said of patients treated for huffing addictions. "They don't think straight. Their reasoning and logic is not what it would be at baseline. It's harder to get them to enhance their motivation and have a wise perspective."

 Inhalant Abuse, Whippets and Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome

The use of inhalants dates back to the 19th century when nitrous oxide was introduced as an intoxicant. Nitrous oxide was recognized for its euphoric mental and physical effects on those who inhaled it. This led to recreational use within upper-class society and later contributed to the development of modern anesthetics. Unfortunately, this substance soon proved to be both addictive and dangerous. In the 1950s, inhalant abuse became widespread among teens and youth, leading to troubling consequences for those taking part in it, including sudden sniffing death syndrome.

 Volatile substance abuse – a problem that never went away

These substances are not “glamorous” and their use is not associated with fashionable clubs, festivals or modern cultural movements. Few in the media demand that government “does more” in response to the harm they do. Nevertheless, the health and social harms of VSA are significant.

 Way Beyond Whippets

Know what to expect in patients who abuse inhalants by huffing, sniffing or bagging. While it may be difficult to identify patients who have abused inhalants unless they provide that history, there are some clues that you may see. Chronic inhalant users may have a “glue sniffer’s rash” on the nose and mouth. The smell of solvents on their skin or clothing is also a giveaway sign. If a young patient presents with ataxia or slurred speech that quickly resolves, potentially with wheezing or initial hypoxia that can also be a clue to inhalant use.

Previously Featured

10 Facts About Inhalant Abuse: It’s NEVER Safe!

Inhalant abuse is real, and your child can be participating in this risky behavior right under your nose.

How Inhalants Can Kill, Even the Very First Time They Are Used

It seems so harmless—just a little drunken intoxication from inhaling the fumes of ordinary household objects. There’s not even any easy way to prevent their abuse—they are in every home and garage. The most popular items used for this purpose are felt tip pens and markers. These items are found in nearly every student’s room, so it’s no surprise they are the most popular types of inhalants.

How To Launch A Nationwide Drug Menace

Inhalant use is rare in adults--and virtually unheard of among those who aren't living in abject poverty or suffering from severe mental illness. What could account for this? Why would these substances only be popular among little kids, the mentally ill and poor people?

Inhalant abuse

Inhalant abuse – also known as volatile substance abuse, solvent abuse, sniffing, huffing and bagging – is the deliberate inhalation of a volatile substance to achieve an altered mental state. Inhalant abuse is a worldwide problem that is especially common in individuals from minority and marginalized populations, and is strongly correlated with the social determinants of health. It often affects younger children, compared with other forms of substance abuse, and crosses social and ethnic boundaries.

Inhalant Abuse: The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for inhalant abuse when encountering young, intoxicated patients with relatively normal medical and laboratory workup, negative urine drug screen, and negative alcohol screen. However, clinicians should understand the limitations associated with making the diagnosis of inhalant use disorder, including lack of readily available diagnostic laboratory tests.

Inhalant Abuse: What You Should Know

Welcome to a web-based training on inhalant abuse designed especially for parents and guardians by the New England Inhalant Abuse Prevention Coalition.

Inhalant Misuse: From Glue to Galaxy Gas

In this episode of PEM Currents: The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Podcast, we explore the complex and often underrecognized issue of inhalant misuse. From the early days of glue sniffing to the recent rise of nitrous oxide misuse, fueled by brands like Galaxy Gas and viral trends on TikTok and Instagram, inhalant misuse has evolved into a growing concern among adolescents.

Inhalants

​Inhalants are a category of chemical vapours or gases that produce a “high” when they are breathed in. They have a high potential for abuse.

Inhalants Are Terrible, Please Stop Using Them

How is this possible, particularly in a country where considerably safer drugs like weed, booze, and Adderall are so readily available?

Inhalants: The Facts

Inhalants and solvents are sometimes referred to as volatile substances. They include a wide variety of easily obtained products and substances that can be misused by either sniffing or inhaling the vapours. Breathing in these fumes may produce euphoric feelings or a ‘high’. Inhalants are central nervous system (CNS) depressants. This means they slow down the workings of the brain, particularly breathing and heart.

Is Your Child or Teen Huffing?

Inhalant abuse (commonly called "huffing") is the intentional inhalation of chemical vapors to attain a mental "high" or euphoric effect. A wide variety of substances, including many common household products, are abused by inhalers.

Mr. Freeze

Unlike other drugs of abuse that can be harder to access, inhalants come in a range of sources and are often household items including cleaners, whipped cream cans, paint, or adhesive. Use can easily be hidden as the inhalant’s effects can last less than a minute and may not initially present with any symptoms of use. Various chemicals including fluorinated hydrocarbons and nitrous oxide are to blame for liver and kidney damage, for triggering dysrhythmias, and even death. Signs of acute intoxication can include dizziness, discoordination, dysarthria or abnormal pitch of voice, hallucinations, delusions, and brief euphoria.

Parents Of Teens Abusing Hand Sanitizer Or Household Substances Need 'Seek Professional Help Right Away,' Expert Says

From hand sanitizer and mouthwash cocktails to household inhalants and bath salts, there has been plenty of media coverage surrounding teenage abuse of dangerous substances.

Podcast # 480: Inhalant Abuse

Abuse occurs by breathing in volatile substances such as solvents, glues, paints, butane, and propane. Inhalants are generally depressants. Estimated that 100-125 people die every year in the US from acute inhalant abuse.

Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome: It’s Never Been a Myth

This can happen within minutes. Even a single session of inhalant abuse may lead to death. A person in perfect health is just as at risk. Absolutely anyone can be affected. It doesn’t matter if they’re using an inhalant for the first, tenth, or hundredth time. Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome is most common in people who use these products as inhalants:

The Dangers of Inhalant Abuse

This is an educational PSA regarding the dangers of inhalant abuse. The PSA was produced alongside the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.

We Asked an Eye Doctor if Poppers Really Make You Blind

The popular inhalant is more dangerous than you may think.

Weekly Dose: amyl started as a poison antidote, now a common party drug

Amyl nitrite is the most well known of a group of chemicals called alkyl nitrites, usually referred to as poppers. Product names include rush, TNT, thrust, jungle juice, ram and kix. Poppers are an inhalant. The most common method of use is to hold an open bottle to your nose and breathe in hard.

Resources

National Inhalant Prevention Coalition

They're all over your house. They're in your child's school. In fact, you probably picked some up the last time you went to the grocery store. Educate yourself. Find out about inhalants before your children do.

Stop Inhalant Abuse

The Alliance for Consumer Education is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2000. The ACE mission is “to promote responsible and beneficial use of products to ensure a safer, healthier and cleaner environment in homes, businesses and the community.” Its core program areas are: Inhalant Abuse Prevention, Disease Prevention, Poison Prevention, and Product Management.

The Inhalant Abuse Report

Informing those who are experiencing or have experienced someone involved with inhalant abuse.

Foundation for a Drug Free World

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a nonprofit public benefit corporation that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions and live drug-free.

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Although many parents are appropriately concerned about illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and LSD, they often ignore the dangers posed to their children from common household products that contain volatile solvents or aerosols.

Partnership for Drug-Free Kids

Inhalants are ordinary household products that are inhaled or sniffed by children to get high. There are hundreds of household products on the market today that can be misused as inhalants.

The Lantern Project

Young people are particularly likely to abuse inhalants because they are easily available, inexpensive and their abuse carries no criminal penalties. These factors make inhalants, for some young people, one of the first substances to be abused.

The Vaults of Erowid

Our understanding of the literature is that there is no such thing as safe use of most volatile solvents, aerosols or other street inhalants : their psychoactive effects may be inseparable from nerve and organ damage.

Canadian Paediatric Society

Inhalant abuse – also known as volatile substance abuse, solvent abuse, sniffing, huffing and bagging – is the deliberate inhalation of a volatile substance to achieve an altered mental state. Inhalant abuse is a worldwide problem that is especially common in individuals from minority and marginalized populations, and is strongly correlated with the social determinants of health.

MedlinePlus

If you're a parent, you may fear that your kids will use drugs such as marijuana or LSD. But you may not realize the dangers of substances in your own home. Household products such as glues, hair sprays, paints and lighter fluid can be drugs for kids in search of a quick high. Many young people inhale vapors from these not knowing that serious health problems can result.