Inhalant Abuse

To visit the official program site, please visit http://www.inhalant.org

Inhalant users can die even the first time they try huffing. It is called Sudden Sniffing Death. It can be caused by forcing the heart to beat rapidly and erratically until it leads to cardiac arrest. It also happens when the fumes from an inhalant enter a person's lungs and central nervous system. The person is unable to breathe and suffocates.

The statistics are startling: one in five students in America have used an inhalant to get high by the time he or she reaches eighth grade. Equally as troubling, according to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics, more than nine out of ten parents refuse to believe their children would deliberately inhale common household products. Yet, despite the information that exists about the deadly side effects that can occur from inhalant abuse, our young people continue to reach for these products.

Inhalants tend to be a drug of first use; kids reach for common household products because they are easily accessible. The problem is not with the products. Rather, the problem is the intentional misuse of these products to get high - a manifestation of a much broader societal issue. Several programs aimed at combating inhalant abuse have been launched to varying degrees of success. Despite these efforts, children as young as age six begin experimenting with inhalants. In a national survey, more than half of the respondents (59%) reported that they were 12 years old or younger when they first heard about or saw classmates inhaling, with most of the abuse taking place either at school or after school.

While inhalant abuse usually begins at age 10 or 11, many educational campaigns focus on teenagers (ages 13-17) and by definition are therefore "intervention" programs. The focus of the ACE campaign is prevention. To discourage use before it begins, we will target the parents of children in 5th to 8th grades (ages 10-13). Studies show that preventing inhalant abuse appears to be an effective means for preventing other drug use.

The program will attempt to answer the following questions. Is information on the dangers of inhalant abuse easily available? If so, is it being properly conveyed to young people? Do parents know enough about this problem? Do they have the tools to talk to their children? If not, how can we best reach them? These questions can only be addressed through in-depth research, analysis and ultimately, the effective dissemination of critical information to parents.

As a non-profit organization, ACE is uniquely suited to address the issue of inhalant abuse. It has built public-private partnerships to address this issue and has access to information from a variety of resources - both industry and third party organizations - at its disposal. ACE will focus on primary caregivers - parents. We must work to ensure that parents realize the scope of the problem, are educated about the issue and are provided with tools to help prevent the problem of inhalant abuse.

The overall goal of this program is to build a long-term, community-based education program that will increase awareness of inhalant abuse among parents of at-risk youth, and equip them with information and tools to help prevent inhalant abuse.

Symptoms of Inhalant Use
Unusual chemical odor on breath or clothing
Paint or other chemical stains on face or fingers
Sores around the mouth
Slurred speech
Dazed appearance
Red and/or runny nose or eyes
Nausea or loss of appetite
Hidden chemical-soaked rags or clothes