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Poor Man’s Pot
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When you’re at the gas station, you will likely inhale fumes unintentionally. However, people deliberately inhale gas or vapors from various products to get intoxicated. The primary use of inhalants is for mood alteration. Inhalants are legal everyday products that are misused by many teens. These are classified into four major categories:
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Volatile Solvents
- These liquids, commonly found in products used for household and industrial purposes, vaporize at room temperature. Paint thinners and removers, gasoline, glues, felt-tip markers, lighter fluid and many more.
Aerosols - Spray cans that contain propellants and solvents such as spray paint, hair and deodorant sprays, fabric protectors, cooking sprays and air fresheners.
Gases - Medical anesthetics (ether, chloroform, nitrous oxide a.k.a. laughing gas, halothane) and gases used for household or commercial purposes (butane lighters, propane or helium tanks, whipped cream, refrigerants) fit into this category. Nitrous oxide can be found in whipped cream and octane boosters for cars – thus making it the most abused of the mentioned gases.
Nitrites - Nitrites act as muscle relaxants and expand blood vessels instead of affecting the Central Nervous System (CNS) like other inhalants. Its main use is as a sexual enhancer. Cyclohexyl nitrite is found in room ordorizers, isoamyl nitrite, “poppers” or “snappers” can be prescribed to individuals with heart pain, and isobutyl nitrite is often packages and sold illegally – it’s referred to as “poppers”.
Inhalant Use - Sniffing or snorting fumes
Spraying aerosol can into the nose or mouth
Capturing fumes in a plastic or paper bag
Huffing from a substance soaked cloth which person stuffs in the mouth
Inhaling nitrous oxide from balloons
Absorbing Inhalants - The inhaled chemical are quickly taken in through the lungs and passed into the bloodstream. Next they spread to the brain and other organs. Intoxication and alcohol-like effects are what give inhalants their appeal. Since the effects are short-lived, “huffers” will inhale these dangerous substances over and over. Using inhalants has short-term and long-term effects on the person’s health.
Health Risks - Intoxication; alcohol-like effects
Loss of control
Bone marrow, liver, kidney, brain, CNS damage
Blood oxygen level reduction
Limb spasms
Displaced oxygen in lungs and CNS leading to suffocation
Asphyxia
Choking on vomit
Hearing loss
Heart failure and death
Physical and psychological dependence can develop
Warning Signs - Chemical odors on breath or clothing
Paint or other stains on the face, clothes, or hands
Drunk or disoriented appearance; dizziness
Slurred speech
Nausea or loss of appetite
Inattentive, lacking coordination
Irritable or depressed mood; anxiety or excitability
Hidden spray cans or clothes soaked in chemicals
Spots or sores around the eyes; red or runny eyes and nose; nosebleeds
Failing grades, lack of interest in and frequent absences from school
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By 8th grade, 1 out of 5 students used inhalants at least once
There are more than a thousand different inhalants
23 million Americans 12 years old and older have used inhalants
Inhalant abuse can begin during late childhood to early adolescence
In 2002, 71 percent of inhalant users were 12 to 25-year-olds
Fun fact - Nitrous oxide was discovered in 1776 by Sir Joseph Priestley. In 1799, Sir Humphrey Davy suggested that nitrous oxide could be used during surgery to reduce pain
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