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Inhalants
Street
Terms: Whippets, poppers, snappers, air blast, moon gas, oz,
poor man's pot, bolt, boppers, bullet rush, satan's secret, buzz
bomb, shoot the breeze, snotballs, Texas shoe shine, highball,
thrust, hippie crack, toilet water, huff, toncho, laughing gas,
and locker room.
Inhalants are volatile substances or fumes from
products such as glue or paint thinner that are sniffed or
"huffed" to cause a high. Inhalants affect the brain
with great speed and force and keep oxygen from reaching the
lungs. Animal and human research shows that most inhalants are
extremely toxic. Perhaps the most significant toxic effect of
chronic exposure to inhalants is widespread and long-lasting
damage to the brain and other parts of the nervous system.
The intoxication produced by inhalants usually lasts just
a few minutes; therefore, users often try to extend the
"high" by continuing to inhale repeatedly over several
hours, which increases the risk.
In
addition to these physical and mental health problems, recent
research shows that inhalant use is associated with symptoms of
depression. Between 2004 and 2006, an estimated 218,000 youths
aged 12-17 used inhalants and also experienced depression in the
past year. The same research showed that depressed teens were
more than three times as likely to start using inhalants than
teens with no symptoms of depression. The reverse is also true,
showing that teens often started using inhalants before
depression began.
Solvents
Solvent
(usually
fast drying glues and adhesives, assorted paint and petroleum
products, lighter fluid, dry-cleaning fluids, assorted aerosol
sprays, surgical spirit, cleaners etc.) abuse involves inhaling
the fumes from domestic and industrial products creating a
strong intoxication.
Traditionally
referred to as 'glue sniffing', the vast majority of solvent
abusers are between the ages of 11-16 and usually male. The most
common method of inhaling solvents is by inhaling them from a
plastic bag which is placed over the face.
A feeling of strong intoxication kicks in almost immediately
with some users experiencing hallucinations. The effects are
short lived, resulting in the prospect of repeated abuse.
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