Inhalants

What are Inhalants? Inhalants are things or substances that are breathed in to give the user an immediate rush or high. This includes household and industrial chemicals that violate vapors or pressurized gases that can be concentrated and breathed via the nose or mouth. Inhalants come in many different forms. It is mostly household products that can be abused as inhalants. This includes glues, paint thinners, dry cleaning fluids, gasoline, felt tip marker fluid, hairspray, deodorants, and spray paints.

Street Names Inhalants are sometimes called: Air blast Bagging Bullet bolt Highball Huffing Glading Bang 3 Specific Types of Inhalants: Nitrites are found in room deodorizers. Gases are found in many household products and this includes aerosol sprays and nitrous oxide. Solvents are usually liquid and found in household and industrial products.

Why do people use Inhalants? One of the reason people use inhalants is because it is easily available to buy in the markets like cleaners, aerosols, and dry-erase markers, hair spray, nail polish, and deodorants. It can also be purchased by anyone because there is no age restrictions on some of the inhalants. The second reason people use inhalants is because it is cheap. Inhalants are one of the least expensive drugs on the market. It only cost a few dollars.

The Effects and Consequences Inhalants produce a quick feeling of being drunk, and over time they can cause very serious damage. Ingredients and chemicals such as toluene, benzene, acetone, and tetrachloroethylene are dangerous because of the toxic tonics and carcinogens. Short Term Effects: Headaches Nausea Vomiting Loss of Balance Dizziness Slow speech Mood changes Hallucinations Long Term Effects: Loss of Concentration Short term memory loss Hearing loss Muscle spasms Permanent brain damage Nerve damage Kidney/liver damage Death

Legal and Social Issues Even though there not regulated under the CSA, 38 states in the US have placed restrictions on the sale and distribution of certain products to minors. For example, you have to be 18 and up in order to buy some inhalants such as spray paint and air duster. They are laws in some US states prohibiting the recreational inhalation of nitrous oxide. Some of the states have introduced legal consequences like fines, mandatory treatment, rehabilitation, community service and probation.

How do Inhalants kill? We can not predict how much of an inhalant will kill someone. The Texas Commission on Drugs and Alcohol Abuse reports the following ways that inhalants can kill: Asphyxia: solvent gases can cause a person to stop breathing from lack of oxygen. Injuries Suicides Cardiac Arrest Suffocation

The Addiction of Inhalants Yes, inhalants can be physically and psychologically addictive. Users report strong urge after excessive use of inhalants over many days Inhalants are abused in several different manners like snorting fumes from their container, placing the substance in a plastic or paper bag and then inhaling the fumes or just by inhaling the fumes. The route of administration is by either sniffing, snorting, dusting huffing, and inhaling. Inhalants are mostly abused by inhaling (they are not taken orally or injected) Most of the people who use solvents and aerosols are young between 10 and 16 years old.