You could be enabling someone to kill themself and not even know it.
Death proves itself the most potent possible side effect of inhalant abuse, even for first-time thrill seekers whose average age keeps falling.
Nationally, the Inhalant Prevention Coalition promotes Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week during the week of March 15-21 as an educational campaign to let people know the dangers that can lie dormant, until it's too late.
Most items classified as inhalants are available in the average home. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health defines them as "liquids, sprays and gases that people sniff or inhale to make them feel good."
Whether it be huffing, sniffing or bagging, there are different methods people use to produce to a desired level of inebriation.
"You can go through anyone's garage, under the cupboards in the kitchen or bathroom, and find enough to kill you," said Fort Campbell's Clinical Director of the Army Substance Abuse Program (ASAP), Smitty Moore.
Solvents, aerosols, gases and nitrites are four classes of inhalants as determined by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Nitrites is the only one sold illegally and usually packaged in a small brown bottle and sold as video head cleaner, room deodorizer, leather cleaner or liquid aroma.
"Dusting" is a term circulating among inhalant abusers who pursue the recreational or experimental use as a cheap high. Canned air is often the chosen form of dusting, and is becoming a major inhalant, Moore said.
Other slang terms identified by NIDA: Laughing gas; snappers; poppers; whippets; bold and rush.
Efforts to reduce the likelihood of inhalant abuse have been made public with the example of the popular inhalant, Dust-Off, changing its formulation to make a less palatable form of the product.
"How else can you get totally out of your mind for less than five bucks'" Moore said. "Or find a way to kill yourself."
Despite similar efforts, there remain on the market as many different ways to inhale harmful fumes and chemicals as there are products that produce the effects. Currently, the potential for abuse in household products number well over 2,000.
Preventive Medicine Department Chief for Blanchfield Army Community Hospital, Dr. Sarah Niles, agrees that from a public health perspective the access for inhalant abusers continues because the products are not illegally purchased.
Lawmakers have attempted to block access to these products to those who are under 18 with legislation, and educational campaigns have proven effective, but experts agree that it's difficult to track who is actually abusing inhalants.
Who's using inhalants
Numerous studies and reports can be cited when looking at the numbers of those affected by inhalant abuse, but as Moore said, "There are no good statistics with any of it. Inhalants are so easy to hide."
The youngest child Moore has worked with, in regards to inhalant abuse has been 5 years old, he said. "He took the lid off the gasoline for the lawnmower...he described it as being a 'real dizzy place.'"
So it is that finding a number to accurately convey the prevalence of inhalant abuse in any community is difficult and not readily available.
As for a rise in inhalant abuse at Fort Campbell, Moore says there is none. "But is there some' Yes. And we have no way of identifying how prevalent it is."
The government tracks inhalant abuse via the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); and the published results of its most recent survey is a source of some specific numbers on inhalant abuse.
The study "Trends in Adolescent Inhalant Use: 2002-2007" revealed 17.2 percent of adolescents choosing inhalants as their first drug use.
Overall, the adolescent population may show decreasing use, but there is an increase in users at a younger age, specifically the eighth grade population.
Among eighth graders, the study finds, perception of harm in trying inhalants once is at its lowest since surveying began in 1991.
SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health found in 2008:
Aca,!Ac Overall, approximately 22.3 million Americans 12 or older have used inhalants once during their lifetime, representing 8.9 percent of the population.
Aca,!Ac 70.4 percent are under the age of 18 when they first use.
Aca,!Ac From 2007-2008, there was a significant decrease in the average age of first use from 17.1 years old to 15.9 years old.
The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition provides more specific background of who is using:
Aca,!Ac One in five students will experiment with inhalants before eighth grade.
Aca,!Ac Additionally, their data reveal that young white males are at the highest risk for use.
Aca,!Ac Across the U.S., 6 percent have tried huffing and one percent are current users.
Inhalant abuse is a concern for many children early on, mainly being one of the most common forms of substance abuse in the 9-13 year old age group. "Inhalants can be one of the first substances children have access to at a younger age," Niles said. Still, she confirms that it's not a problem strictly held to one age group or another.
One report stated police in Owensboro, Ky. saw a rise in inhalant abuse among adults last summer.
Editor's Note: This is part one of a series seeking to inform the public about inhalant abuse. Part two will focus on how inhalants harm the body and the signs and catalysts of use.
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