Study Proves Children and Teens are Using Inhalants to Get High

Although inhalant abuse has become less prevalent since the early 1990s in all age groups, it remains a source of injury and death, particularly among teenagers, researchers have found.

"Huffers" can become addicted, suffer brain damage or worse. A new study, published in Pediatrics, analyzed data from 1993 to 2008 reported to 60 poison control centers nationwide to find that youth are intentionally inhaling roughly 3,400 products. From gasoline to typewriter correction fluid, from paint thinner to helium, the products are easy for kids to access.

Nitrous oxide, which is one of the top causes of death of youth who inhale, can be found in the chargers used to make whipping cream. Butane is used in cigarette lighters. Air freshener, another top killer, can be found just about anywhere.

The highest rate of abuse was among children ages 12 to 17, with about 47.28 cases per million reported to poison control.

The risk of having a life-threatening outcome or dying was significantly higher for cases of inhalant abuse than with both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical exposures.

That finding "likely reflects the occurrence of sudden death with inhalants, and is troubling in the context of data showing that teenagers increasingly perceive inhalant use to be less harmful or less risky to one's health," the researchers discovered.

Three ongoing national surveys have identified a decline in inhalant abuse in recent years, although 10% to 15% of all U.S. teens are estimated to use inhalants at some point. These surveys have had various shortcomings, however, and the surveillance of health hazards associated with inhalant abuse and the risks associated with specific products has been limited, according to Toby Litovitz, MD, of the National Capital Poison Center in Washington, and colleagues.

In the first 10 years of the study period, the rate of abuse among those ages 12 to 17 decreased from 73 per million to 33.2 per million, with little change after that.

About three-quarters of the cases (73.5%) involved boys, which appears to contrast with national survey data showing similar amounts of abuse among girls and boys.

The findings "suggest that boys may pursue riskier usage behaviors," according to the researchers, "such as inhaling larger doses and more concentrated substances, prolonging usage episodes, selecting more hypoxic delivery methods, and using more toxic inhalants."

Of the cases for which a definitive outcome could be determined, 0.9% died, 4.5% had a life-threatening or disabling outcome, 30.7% had a moderate outcome, 38.4% had a minor outcome, and 25.4% were not affected.

More than 200 inhalant product categories were implicated, with propellants such as aerosol dusters (15.6%), gasoline (13.1%), and paint (10.4%) being the most frequently abused inhalants.

The overall rate of death from inhalant abuse was 5.5 per 1,000 exposures, which was much higher than for exposures from pharmaceuticals (0.4) and nonpharmaceuticals (0.14). The deadliest substance was butane (58.1 deaths per 1,000), followed by propane (25.9), air fresheners (21.8), and nitrous oxide (13.7).

Paint and gasoline both had a low fatality rate of 1.6 per 1,000 exposures.

Propellants were the only product category for which abuse substantially increased over time.

"Focusing inhalant prevention efforts on the most hazardous products and most seriously affected users may improve and facilitate strategic prevention, enabling interventions such as targeted education, product reformulation, repackaging, relabeling, or prohibition of sales of especially hazardous inhalant products to youth," Litovitz and colleagues concluded.

According to the study, the highest number of inhalant abuse incidents were reported in 14- and 15-year-olds, but children as young as 6 may experiment with inhalants. That's why parents need to talk about the dangers early and often, according to Harvey Weiss, executive director of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition in Chattanooga, Tenn.

NIPC works with poison control centers, state agencies, schools, businesses, trade associations, media, civic organizations, law enforcement, and interfaith groups throughout the country to educate and devise awareness and prevention campaigns designed to educate youth and adults about the effects of these dangerous drugs.

Through environmental prevention efforts, some products contain warning labels about the risks of inhaling, but the most effective tool to combat abuse is still community awareness. Weiss’ coalition has seen abuse rates drop significantly in communities when school administrators, community leaders and parents understand the inherent inhalant dangers.