INHALANTS

Britni Theodis - James Worley - Brandon Pierce

What are Inhalants?

Inhalants are highly toxic substances that produce dangerous chemical vapors. When inhaled through nose or mouth, these chemicals can cause damaging, mind-alerting effects and sudden death. There are four main types of inhalants and they can be found in a range of products, like paint thinners, glues, cleaning products, gases, lighter fluids and aerosol sprays. Inhalants are an equal opportunity method of substance abuse.

Types of Inhalants

1. Aerosol Sprays: These are some of the most prevalent inhalants, including spray paint, deodorant, hairspray, vegetable oil cooking sprays and more.

2. Gases: These include medical gasses (ether, nitrous oxide) household or commercial products such as butane lighters, propane tanks and whipped cream dispensers.

3. Nitrates: These include cyclohexyl nitrate, amyl nitrate and butyl nitrate. Found in room deodorizers and capsules that release vapors when opened.

4. Volatile Solvents: These are liquids that become gas at room temperature. Found in paint thinner and remover, gasoline, glues and felt-tip marker fluid.

Street Names & Slang Names

Inhalants are inhaled through nose or mouth directly or sprayed into a plastic bag, soaked onto a cloth or poured into a bottle and inhaled. The following are some of the street names for inhalants:

Laughing gas, poppers, snappers, whippets, huffing, sniffing, dusting, bolt, heart-on, hippie crack, honey oil, aroma of men, medusa, poor man’s pot bagging, snot balls, nangs, bulbs, glue, chroming, poppers, high ball, air blast, medusa, buzz bomb, hardware, moon gas and more…

Why use Inhalants?

People use inhalants because they are a cheap, legally purchased and an easy to obtain high. Inhalants are an alternative to other mood altering drugs.

Solvents & Aerosol: Intoxication similar to that of alcohol achieved between 1-5 minutes, high lasts no longer than 60 seconds.

Nitrous Oxide: Rapid head rush and euphoria but only last for a moment.

Volatile Nitrates: Blood rushes to the brain flooding it with oxygen bringing a sense of exhilaration and sensuality.

Intervention: Allison S4/Ep18

http://www.myspace.com/video/bordeaux-bootleg/a-e-tv-intervention-allison/100909404

History of Inhalants

• 1800’s – Nitrous oxide, ether and chloroform were anesthetics used commonly as intoxicants.

• 19th Century – the use of anesthetics for recreational purposes continued in Europe and the United States.

• 1920’s- Ether was used as a recreational drug during Prohibition when alcohol was illegal in the U.S.

• 1940’s – Recreational use of solvents, primarily gasoline became popular.

• 1950’s – Abuse of inhalants in the US increased.

• 1960’s – solvent sniffing spread across a variety of commercial products including paint and lacquer thinner, nail polish remover, shoe polish, lighter fluid and more

• Today glue, gas and spray paint sniffing is a problem around the world.

Statistics of Inhalants

•More than 22.9 million Americans have experimented with inhalants at sometime in their life.

•Young, white males have the highest rate of use. Hispanic and American Indian populations also show high rates of use.

•22% of inhalant abusers who died of Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome were first time users.

•Over 2.6 million children ages 12-17 use an inhalant to get high.

•1 in 4 students in America has intentionally abused a common household product to get high by the time they reach the 8th grade.

•58% of children are aware of friends huffing at age 12.

•Inhalants are the 4th most abused substance after alcohol, tobacco and marijuana.

Inhalant use Affects

Inhalant use affects:

Friends

The User

Relationships

Work

Family

School

Origin of Inhalants

•Inhalants are made in factories with the intention of being used for household, industrial or commercial use.

•Inhalants have no accepted medical use, with the exception of medical anesthetics such as nitrous oxide.

•Inhalants are legal and although they aren’t regulated under the Controlled Substances Act, 38 states have placed restrictions on the sale and distribution to minors of certain products that are commonly abused as inhalants.

•Some states have penalties such as fines, incarceration or mandatory treatment for the sale, distribution, use or possession of inhalants.

•Some states have laws prohibiting the recreational inhalation of nitrous oxide.

Effects of Inhalants

Short Term Effects:

•Slurred speech•Drunk appearance•Losing feeling or consciousness•Hostility•Apathy•Severe headaches•Increased heart rate•Rashes around nose and mouth

Long Term Effects:

•Brain damage•Muscle weakness•Disorientation or lack of coordination•Depression & Irritability•Hearing loss•Bone marrow damage•Serious sometimes irreversible damage to heart, liver, kidneys, lungs and brain

Inhalants can cause many changes in the body. Once the vapors enter the body some are absorbed by parts of the brain and nervous system. It can sometimes take up to 2 weeks for the chemicals to completely pass from the body.

Harmful Effects

• Blood – Nitrates & methylene chloride (paint thinner) chemically block oxygen carrying capacity of blood.

•Lungs- Repeated use can cause lung damage.

•Heart – Can cause “sudden sniffing death syndrome.”

•Liver – Compounds found in aerosol paints and correction fluid have been linked to liver damage.

•Kidney- Toluene impairs kidney’s ability to control amount of avid in blood. Could cause kidney stones.

A. MUSCLE Chronic inhalant abuse can lead to muscle wasting, reduced muscle tone and strength.

B. BONE MARROW Benzene, a component of gasoline, has been shown to cause leukemia.

A. BRAIN Many inhalants are thought to dissolve in the myelin sheath surrounding neurons and brain cells resulting in cell death.

B. CEREBRAL CORTEX Cellular death here causes permanent personality changes, memory impairment, hallucinations and learning disabilities.

C. CEREBELLUM Inhalant-related damage results in loss of coordination and slurred speech. Chronic abusers experience tremors and uncontrollable shaking.

D. OPHTHALMIC NERVE Toluene may affect this nerve causing sight disorders

Pregnancy & Inhalants

It is believed that nearly all inhalants cross the placenta and enter the baby's blood stream. For this reason, it is important you cease using inhalants during pregnancy.

Known effects on the baby are early delivery, breathing problems and an increased risk of infection.

Suggested that the unborn baby can experience periods of reduced oxygen, which can effect brain development. This has the potential to impact on a child's life long learning ability.

How Inhalants Kill

•“Sudden Sniffing Death” – This is the most common cause of death from inhalant use. Heart beats quickly and irregularly then stops suddenly. Can happen after the first use.

•Asphyxia – Toxic fumes replace oxygen in the lungs so the person stops breathing.

•Choking – A user can choke on their own vomit.

•Suffocation – When vapors are inhaled from a plastic bag or placed over the head, the bag can block air from entering the lungs.

•Injuries – Since people high on inhalants often make poor decisions, they might try to drive or do something irrational, such as jump off a roof. They also could get burned or start explosions if a spark ignites flammable inhalants.

•Suicide – Some people become depressed when their high wears off.

Inhalant Use with Other Drugs

Mixing Inhalants and Alcohol - Alcohol will intensify the already toxic effects of inhalants and may lead to coma or death. Also, because the effects of inhalants wear off rather quickly and alcohol intoxication lasts much longer, serious mental impairment can result, leading the user to engage in deadly behavior they would not likely attempt if sober.

Mixing Inhalants with Other Drugs and Opiates - Anti-anxiety benzodiazepines also function as depressants, presenting many of the same risks as alcohol. There are no drugs that are safe to mix with inhalants.

Signs of

Inhalants have noticeable effects on those using them. Someone who is using inhalants may suffer from several different ill effects including:

•Mood swings•Extreme anger, agitation, and irritability•Exhaustion•Loss of appetite•Frequent vomiting•Hallucinations •Facial rashes and blisters•Frequent runny nose and cough•Dilated pupils•Glazed or watery eyes•Extremely bad breath

Youth Use of Inhalants & Aerosols MN Law 2010

•Minn. Stat. Ann. §609.684Subdivision 1. Toxic substances. For purposes of this section, "toxic substance" means: (1) glue, cement, or aerosol paint containing toluene, benzene, xylene, amyl nitrate, butyl nitrate, nitrous oxide, or containing other aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, but does not include glue, cement, or paint contained in a packaged kit for the construction of a model automobile, airplane, or similar item;(2) butane or a butane lighter; or(3) any similar substance declared to be toxic to the central nervous system and to have a potential for abuse, by a rule adopted by the commissioner of health under chapter 14.Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1997 c 239 art 3 s 25]Subd. 3. Use for intoxication prohibited. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor who uses or possesses any toxic substance with the intent of inducing intoxication, excitement, or stupefaction of the central nervous system, except under the direction and supervision of a medical doctor. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor who intentionally aids another in violation of this subdivision.

Prevention and Treatment

Treatment of inhalant abuse and dependence includes behavioral (helping a person change behaviors) and pharmacological (treatment with medication,) counseling, strict abstinence, 12-step programs, support groups, inpatient and outpatient dependency treatment.

Education and Awareness are the keys to preventing inhalant abuse.

Benefits of Inhalants

There aren't any benefits of using inhalants, however the benefits of non-use include: -Staying Physically Healthy-Remaining Mentally Healthy-Saving Money-Staying Out of

Trouble with the Law-Opportunities in Life

Getting Help

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) www.drugabuse.gov or www.nida.nih.gov Information about drug abuse. And there's a special section just for students.

• National Inhalant Prevention Coalition (NIPC) www.inhalants.org March 16-22 is National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week. The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition's site offers comprehensive facts and resources.

• www.hazelden.com Since its 1949 founding in a Minnesota lakeside farmhouse, Hazelden is one of the world's largest and most respected private not-for-profit alcohol and drug addiction treatment centers.

• www.inhalantaddictiontratment.com Extensive information on inhalants and a 24- hour hotline.

• Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Crisis Hotline, The Anti-Drug www.antidrug.com, Partnership for a Drug-Free America www.drugfree.org, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse www.ncadi.samhsa.gov/links

Inhalant Presentation Sources

•http://inhalants.weebly.com/benefits.html •http://inhalants.weebly.com/treatmentresources.html•http://www.thewomens.org.au/inhalants•http://www.myrecoverynetwork.com/•http://www.theantidrug.com•http://www.inhalants.org•http://www.hazelden.org•http://kidshealth.org/teen/drug_alcohol/drugs/inhalants.html•http://www.inhalant.org•http://www.drugfreeworld.org•http://abovetheinfluence.com/facts/drugsinhalants/•http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/inhalant-abuse•http://www.inhalantaddictiontreatment.com/•http://www.ncsl.org/•http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/inhalants

Thank you and remember: