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Inhalants as the new drug
HEALTH NOTES Byron Y. Newman, O.D.
Inhalants as the new drug
T
he good news is that drug use has declined substantially over the last 4 years. The bad news is that inhalant abuse has increased, according to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the May 2006 issue of The Nation’s Health, the monthly newspaper of the American Public Health Association, written by Teddi Dineley Johnson. Just how bad is this problem and what is being inhaled? Based on data gathered from 2002 through 2004, approximately 598,000 children ages 12 to 17 initiated inhalant use in the last 12 months, the report said, which translates to 1.8 million new inhalant users in the last 3 years, and some of those kids are your patients. The term inhalants refers to more than 1,400 household and commercial products that are intentionally misused, either by sniffing them directly from the container, or “huffing” them through the mouth, to achieve a high. It can be seemingly innocent, such as “huffing” a can of computer dust cleaner, which often is used by children in the 9 to 15-yearold group. It even has a name. It’s called “dusting” and gives a slight high for about 10 seconds. It is compressed air, but it also contains a propellant and a refrigerant, and there is no way to predict if sudden death will occur. Such deaths have been reported. It’s like playing Russian roulette because there is no warning, it’s not
an overdose and it’s not cumulative. It just happens. And parents who think their homes are drug free are receiving a wake-up call. Dozens of children die each year from abusing these products that are purchased and brought into the home by their parents, because these abused products are legal, serve useful purposes, and are readily available. Products reported most often are solventbased glues, shoe polish, gasoline, lighter fluid, nitrous oxide, solventbased markers, spray paints, correction fluid, degreasers, cleaning fluids, and products in aerosol cans, like locker room deoderizers and paint thinners. “Inhalants can harm the brain, liver, heart, kidneys, and lungs and can interfere with brain development,” said Nora Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, during a March news conference releasing the report and kicking off the 14th annual National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Campaign. Dr. Volkow said that inhalants are often referred to as the “silent” drugs because they are so difficult for parents to detect. The largest increase in inhalant use was among eighth graders, “who may be unaware of the damage inhalants can cause,” Volkow said. Most of these youths were white and from homes with incomes well above the poverty line, with girls found to be abusing inhalants more frequently than boys. “Now is the time to marshal our collective efforts to reduce and prevent inhalant experimentation and
1529-1839/06/$ -see front matter © 2006 American Optometric Association. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.optm.2006.06.012
Byron Y. Newman, O.D.
abuse,” said Harvey Weiss, M.B.A., founder and executive director of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition. “Our children’s future may depend on it.” Even though many deaths go unreported, between 100 and 125 deaths from inhalant abuse are reported each year. Weiss noted the coalition has developed guidelines to help medical examiners, coroners, and pathologists determine which deaths are inhalant deaths. Parents need to know the signs to save their children. So far it has been reported that uncharacteristic anger and a sore tongue are common warning signs. For further information on abuse prevention, visit www.inhalants.org, or call (800) 269-4237. The report, “Characteristics of Recent Adolescent Inhalant Initiates” is available at www.oas.samhsa.gov.
Inhalants as the new drug
T
he good news is that drug use has declined substantially over the last 4 years. The bad news is that inhalant abuse has increased, according to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in the May 2006 issue of The Nation’s Health, the monthly newspaper of the American Public Health Association, written by Teddi Dineley Johnson. Just how bad is this problem and what is being inhaled? Based on data gathered from 2002 through 2004, approximately 598,000 children ages 12 to 17 initiated inhalant use in the last 12 months, the report said, which translates to 1.8 million new inhalant users in the last 3 years, and some of those kids are your patients. The term inhalants refers to more than 1,400 household and commercial products that are intentionally misused, either by sniffing them directly from the container, or “huffing” them through the mouth, to achieve a high. It can be seemingly innocent, such as “huffing” a can of computer dust cleaner, which often is used by children in the 9 to 15-yearold group. It even has a name. It’s called “dusting” and gives a slight high for about 10 seconds. It is compressed air, but it also contains a propellant and a refrigerant, and there is no way to predict if sudden death will occur. Such deaths have been reported. It’s like playing Russian roulette because there is no warning, it’s not
an overdose and it’s not cumulative. It just happens. And parents who think their homes are drug free are receiving a wake-up call. Dozens of children die each year from abusing these products that are purchased and brought into the home by their parents, because these abused products are legal, serve useful purposes, and are readily available. Products reported most often are solventbased glues, shoe polish, gasoline, lighter fluid, nitrous oxide, solventbased markers, spray paints, correction fluid, degreasers, cleaning fluids, and products in aerosol cans, like locker room deoderizers and paint thinners. “Inhalants can harm the brain, liver, heart, kidneys, and lungs and can interfere with brain development,” said Nora Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, during a March news conference releasing the report and kicking off the 14th annual National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Campaign. Dr. Volkow said that inhalants are often referred to as the “silent” drugs because they are so difficult for parents to detect. The largest increase in inhalant use was among eighth graders, “who may be unaware of the damage inhalants can cause,” Volkow said. Most of these youths were white and from homes with incomes well above the poverty line, with girls found to be abusing inhalants more frequently than boys. “Now is the time to marshal our collective efforts to reduce and prevent inhalant experimentation and
1529-1839/06/$ -see front matter © 2006 American Optometric Association. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.optm.2006.06.012
Byron Y. Newman, O.D.
abuse,” said Harvey Weiss, M.B.A., founder and executive director of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition. “Our children’s future may depend on it.” Even though many deaths go unreported, between 100 and 125 deaths from inhalant abuse are reported each year. Weiss noted the coalition has developed guidelines to help medical examiners, coroners, and pathologists determine which deaths are inhalant deaths. Parents need to know the signs to save their children. So far it has been reported that uncharacteristic anger and a sore tongue are common warning signs. For further information on abuse prevention, visit www.inhalants.org, or call (800) 269-4237. The report, “Characteristics of Recent Adolescent Inhalant Initiates” is available at www.oas.samhsa.gov.