DIFFERENT TYPES OF INHALANTS
Photo credit: iStockphoto
Inhalants can be categorised into four different types:
LIQUIDS that vaporise at room temperatures. These are found in numerous easily available household and industrial products including paint thinners, degreasers, petrol, glues, correction fluids and felt-tip marker fluids.
SPRAYS such as spray paints, deodorant and hair sprays, vegetable oil sprays for cooking and fabric protector sprays.
GASES including medical anaesthetics (ether, chloroform and nitrous oxide, commonly called “laughing gas”), butane lighters, propane tanks, whipped cream dispensers and refrigerants.
NITRITES (a chemical compound found in food preservatives, leather cleaner, room deodorizers, etc.) are considered a special class of inhalants which act directly on the central nervous system, brain and spinal cord. They are used mainly as sexual enhancers and are commonly known as “poppers” or “snappers.”
“For three days, a friend gave me glue free of cost. On the fourth day he asked for money from me. By then, I was addicted and I had to give him money to get a tube of glue. I needed several tubes of glue daily.” —Marty
REFERENCES
- “Inhalant Abuse,” National Institute on Drug Abuse
- “Inhalants Pose Health Threat to Teens,” Iowa Department of Public Health, 24 Mar 2008
- “Inhalant Use across the Adolescent Years,” National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 13 Mar 2008
- National Inhalant Abuse Taskforce Final Report, Melbourne, Australia, Nov 2005
- “Inhalants,” Timothy Kaufman, M.D., emedicine.com, 9 Jul 2007
- “About Inhalants,” National Inhalant Prevention Coalition
- “Intelligence Brief: Huffing,” National Drug Intelligence Center, Nov 2001
- “Inhalants: Description/Overview,” U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
- “Inhalant Abuse,” National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Report Series
- “Huffing—Inhalants,” National Education Foundation of America
- “NIDA InfoFacts: Inhalants” National Institute on Drug Abuse
