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What are inhalants ?
Inhalants are volatile (vaporize at room temperature) substances
that produce chemical vapors. These vapors can be intentionally
inhaled (huffing) to induce a psychoactive, or mind-altering effect
similar to alcohol use. Inhalants are found in common everyday
household products that we use:
Air freshener, Butane, Cooking spray, Correction fluid/ thinners,
Deodorant, Fabric protector, Felt pens, Freon, Gasoline, Household
glue, Hairspray, Helium, Incense, Lighter fluid, Model airplane
glue, Nail polish/ nail polish remover, Paint, Paint thinner,
Propane, Rubber cement. Spot remover, Spray paint ...
Why do people take inhalants ?
- Quick buzz, euphoric effect
- Easily available and inexpensive. Inhalants are legal
products, therefore they can be purchased by anyone and
there is no need to get access through a dealer.
- Inhalants are easy to use and easy to conceal. Their use
is difficult to detect.
- There are no educational deterrents offered in school,
few parents are sensitized to the problem and the consequences
of use are not common knowledge.
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Inhalants fall into the following categories:
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Solvents |
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- 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.
(carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethane,
trichloroethylene ; acetates, acetone, benzene, butylacetate,
chloroform, ether, hexane, methanol, naphtha, methyl chloride,
methyl ethyl ketone, methylene chloride, toluene )
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Gases |
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- Gases used in household or commercial
products, including butane lighters and propane
tanks; whipping cream aerosols or dispensers (whippets);
and, refrigerant and fire extinguishers gases.
(Fuels: butane, gasoline, isopropane, propane, tetraethyl
lead ; Gases: fluorinated hydrocarbons: freon, bromochlorodifluoromethane,
other fluorocarbons)
- 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") .
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Nitrites |
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- Aliphatic nitrites,
including cyclohexyl nitrite, which is found in room odorizers
- Amyl nitrite, is
a drug that is sometimes prescribed to people that have
heart problems and is available by prescription. On the
street, it is commonly referred to as poppers.
- Butyl nitrite and volatile alkyl
nitrites.
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Inhalants are also known as:
Aimies, Bang, Glue, Huff, Kick, Poppers, Rush, Snappers, Sniff,
Texas Shoe-Shine, Whippets, more...
How are inhalants taken?
Inhalants are breathed in through the nasal passages and absorbed
by the lungs, sprayed directly into the mouth or mixed with other
liquids and swallowed. To maintain the high the user must continue
use.
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What are the possible effects
of inhalants use?
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Similar to the effects of alcohol.
- Inhalants can kill you the first time you use them
- Effects are usually felt within the first 3 to 5 minute
of use of an inhalant
- Loss inhibitions, increased self-confidence, excitement,
euphoria.
- Dazed, dizzy or drunk appearance
- Reckless, dangerous behaviour
- Diarrhea, vomiting.
- Bloodshot eyes
- Runny nose, nosebleeds
- Headache
- Coming down from the high can cause feelings of anxiousness
and/or agitation.
Chronic / long term use of
inhalants may cause:
- Chemical odor to ones breath
- Anxiety, excitable, irritable
- Loss of appetite, nausea
- Sores and/or spots in and around the mouth
- Altered breathing, increased heart rate
- Ringing in the ear, hearing loss
- Sneezing, coughing
- Weakening of the muscles, fatigue
- Limb spasms
- Uncontrollable bowel movements and urination
- Temporary blindness
- Unconsciousness, suffocation (from plastic bag)
- Central nervous system or brain damage
- Bone marrow damage
- Sudden Sniffing Death - SSD
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What are
the risks associated with pregnancy and inhalants use ?
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Effects associated with inhalants during pregnancy are similar
to alcohol and may result in:
- Birth defects
- Early labour, premature birth
- Breathing problems and a heightened risk of infection
may occur, for the newborn.
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Symptoms of inhalant overdose:
- Headache, ringing in the ears
- Double vision, dilated pupils
- Increased heart rate, irregular heartbeat
- Increased activity, impulsive, hazardous actions
- Slurred speech, slowed reflexes, uncoordinated
- Delusions, hallucinations (auditory, visual, or tactile)
- Unconsciousness
- Permanent brain damage.
- Sudden Sniffing Death (SSD)
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Withdrawal
symptoms:
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Similar to alcohol :
Alcohol:
Restlessness, irritability, anxiety, agitation
Anorexia, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting
Tremor, elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure
Insomnia, intense dreaming, nightmares
Impaired concentration, memory, and judgment
Increased sensitivity to sounds, alteration in tactile
sensations
Delirium (disorientation to time, place, situation)
Hallucinations (auditory, visual, or tactile)
Delusions (usually paranoid)
Seizures
Elevated temperature
Headache
Possible death
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For further
information on inhalants, we have included these links:
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Full text - Articles, booklets and fact sheets:
Web sites:
Webcasts:
If you know of a good resource, feel free
to recommend it by sending
us a link and we will do our best to add it.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"NCADI: Drugs of Abuse". (1997)
Inventory #RP0926. National Clearinghouse for Alcohol
and Drug Information (NCADI).
< http://www.health.org/govpubs/rpo926/.
> [March 01, 2003].
- "What is Withdrawal Management ?" Withdrawal
Management Association of Ontario. < http://sano.camh.net/wmao/whatis.htm
> [March 01, 2003] .
- National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Institute
of Health. US Department of Health and Human Services. "Inhalants"
(March 2003) NIDA : InfoFacts
< http://www.drugabuse.gov/Infofax/inhalants.html
> [April 30, 2003].
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For further information, check
out our Youth
Resources page.
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