Article: Inhalant

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The mug shot of an inhalant user arrested in Ohio in 2005 for inhaling gold spraypaint.

Inhalants are a chemically diverse group of psychoactive substances composed of organic solvents and volatile substances commonly found in more than 1000 common household products, such as adhesives, hair spray, air fresheners, gasoline, lighter fluid, and paint.

The practice of inhaling such substances is sometimes colloquially referred to as huffing, sniffing or chroming; or, more formally, solvent abuse.

Solvents are some of the most dangerous substances used recreationally, and can cause serious damage to the brain and central nervous system, and are generally only used by young substance abusers or as a desperate last resort for financially deprived drug addicts. While not regulated in the United States under the Controlled Substances Act, many states have placed restrictions on the sale of these products to minors.

Methods of use

Inhalants may be sniffed directly from an open container or "buzzed" from a rag soaked in the substance and held to the face. Alternatively, the open container or soaked rag can be placed in a plastic bag where the vapors concentrate, and the bag held to the face as the user inhales. Solvent-based markers are generally held to the nose, and the fumes inhaled. Propane and butane may be inhaled directly from the canister.

Although inhalant abusers may prefer one particular substance because of the odor or taste, a variety of substances may be used because of their similar effects, availability, and cost. Once inhaled, the extensive capillary surface of the lungs allows rapid absorption of the substance, and blood levels peak rapidly. Entry into the brain is so fast that the effects of inhalation can resemble the intensity of effects produced by intravenous injection of other psychoactive drugs.

Usage and availability

Inhalant abuse is relatively common among children and adolescents.

Inhalants are readily available, inexpensive, and easy to conceal. Therefore, they are increasingly popular with young people and are, for many, one of the first substances abused.

In the United States the extent of the inhalant problem among children and adolescents was, at first, virtually unrecognized by the general public. However, an event in early 1999 called national attention to this severe problem. Five high school girls were killed in a car accident outside Philadelphia, and the coroner's report showed that four of the five, including the driver, had ingested "significant" amounts of a computer keyboard cleaner. Since this event, there has been an increased awareness of the threat of inhalant abuse.

Petrol sniffing became common on Russian ships following attempts to limit the supply of alcohol to crew in the 1980s. The documentary Children Underground depicts the huffing of Aurolac by Romanian homeless children. Petrol sniffing also occurs in some remote indigenous communities in developed countries.

Common inhalants

• adhesives and cements (rubber cement, plastic cement, etc.)
• air freshener
• butane
• canned air (compressed hydrofluorocarbons)
• cassette player head cleaner
• correction fluid
• diethyl ether
• freon
• gasoline
• insecticide
• nail polish remover (acetone or similar chemicals)
• paint or spraypaint
• Paint thinner (turpentine or similar chemicals)
• Toluene
• xylene markers
• Gum sniffing
• Petrol sniffing

Health effects

Use of inhalants can cause brain, nerve, liver and other damage to the body. They can also indirectly cause sudden death by cardiac arrest if the user is startled while high, this is known as Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. The mechanism of action is the hydrocarbons found in many inhalants sensitizing the user to adrenaline. In this state a sudden surge of adrenaline, usually caused by discovery by an authority figure or a particularly frightening hallucination, can cause a fatal cardiac arrhythmia.[1]

Inhalants do not directly displace oxygen except in extremely high concentrations, however hypoxia can theoretically become an issue with some methods of use such as huffing from a plastic bag if fresh air is not breathed often enough.[2] However, some inhalants are heavier-than-air gases, and if regular breathing is not maintained, they will remain in the lungs instead of being naturally expelled.

In popular culture

The Ramones sang "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" about adolescent ennui. The punk fanzine "Sniffin' Glue" takes its name from the song but has nothing to do with inhalants.

The contraption on the cover of the Ween album The Pod is not a Scotchguard inhalation device, but a bong-like device used with Marijuana.

In the 1996 film Citizen Ruth, the character Ruth huffs patio sealant from a paper bag.

Former Howard Stern Show cast member John Melendez would inhale the compressed nitrous oxide found in whipped cream cans – popularly known as "whippits."

Primus's 1998 song Laquerhead is about adolescents who use inhalants to get high.

In the movie Love Liza, the lead actor played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, develops a gasoline addiction.

See also

• Inhaler
• Menthol inhaler
• Petrol sniffing