NCJ Number
171825
Date Published
1996
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Based on recent studies on the use of inhalants among adolescents in the United States, this report alerts the public to the widespread use of inhalants and the dangers inherent in such use.
Abstract
A large number of adolescents in the United States experiment with intoxicating inhalants. These inhalants include a wide range of household products such as glue, spray paint, lighter fluid, and propellent gases used in aerosols. A study by Dr. James C. Garriott, the chief toxicologist in San Antonio and Bexar County, Tex., examined all deaths in the county between 1982 and 1988 that were attributed to inhalant abuse. Most of the 39 inhalant-related deaths involved adolescents; 21 of the deceased were less than 20 years old. Most of them had used toluene-containing products, such as spray paints and lacquers. A 1986 study of 20 chronic abusers of toluene-containing spray paints found that after 1 month of abstinence from sniffing the paint, 65 percent of the abusers had damage to the nervous system. Such damage can lead to impaired perception, reasoning, and memory, as well as defective muscular coordination and dementia. A figure shows the chemical contents of various volatile solvents and nitrites and anesthetics. Other figures show how inhalants rank among most-abused substances and trends in lifetime use of inhalants, inhalants adjusted, and nitrites by high school seniors, 1979-93. 21 references