Q: What are inhalants?
A: Inhalants are breathable chemicals that produce psychoactive (mind altering) vapors. People do not usually think of inhalants as drugs because most of them were never meant to be used that way. They include solvents, aerosols, some anesthetics and other chemicals. Examples are model airplane glue, nail polish remover, gasoline and lighter and cleaning fluids. Aerosols that are used as inhalants include paints, cookware coating agents, hair sprays and other spray products. Anesthetics include halothane and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). Amyl nitrite and butyl nitrite are inhalants that are also abused.
Q: What are amyl and butyl nitrite?
A: Amyl nitrite, a clear, yellowish liquid, is sold in a cloth-covered, sealed bulb that makes a snapping sound when broken, resulting in the nickname "snappers" or "poppers." Amyl nitrate's legitimate use is for diagnostics or with heart patients to dilate the blood vessels and speed up the heart. When amyl nitrite became a prescription-only drug, many users changed to butyl nitrite, which is packaged in small bottles and sold under such names as "locker room" and "rush." It produces a "high" that lasts from a few seconds to several minutes caused from decreased blood pressure and increased heart rate, accompanying flushed face, dizziness and headache.
Q: Who abuses inhalants?
A: Young people, especially between the ages of 7 and 17, are more likely to abuse inhalants, in part because they are readily available and inexpensive. Sometimes children unintentionally misuse inhalant products that are often found around the house. Parents should see that these substances, like medicines, are kept away from young children.
Q: How do inhalants work?
A: Although different in makeup, nearly all of the abused inhalants produce effects similar to anesthetics, which act to slow down the body's functions. At low doses, users may feel slightly stimulated; at higher amounts, they feel out of control; with decreased inhibition and possibly loss of consciousness.
Q: What are the immediate negative effects of inhalants?
A: Initial bad effects include nausea, sneezing, coughing, nosebleeds, feeling and looking tired, bad breath, lack of coordination and a loss of appetite. Solvents and aerosols also decrease the heart and breathing rate and affect judgment. How strong these effects are depends on the experience and personality of the user, how much is inhaled, the specific substance and the user's surroundings. The "high" from inhalants tends to be short, but it can last several hours if the substance is used repeatedly.
Q: What are the most serious short-term effects of inhalants?
A: Deep breathing of the vapors or using a lot over a short period of time may result in losing touch with one's surroundings, a loss of self-control, violent behavior, unconsciousness or death. Furthermore, using inhalants can cause nausea and vomiting. Even worse, if a person is unconscious when vomiting occurs, death can result from aspiration. Sniffing highly concentrated amounts of solvents or aerosol sprays can produce heart failure and instant death. Surprisingly, sniffing can cause death the first time or any time, so there is no safe level of usage. Using inhalants amounts to Russian roulette with a bullet in every chamber, for inhalants cause death by depressing the central nervous system so much that breathing slows down until it stops.
High concentrations of inhalants cause death from suffocation by displacing the oxygen in the lungs, the most usual cause of inhalant-related death. A popular and deadly practice among users of inhalants is deliberately inhaling from a paper bag, which greatly increases the chance of suffocation. Even when using aerosol or volatile (vaporous) products for their legitimate purposes, i.e., painting, cleaning, etc., it is wise to do so in a well-ventilated room or outdoors.
Q: What are the long-term dangers?
A: For those users who survive to experience long-term use dangers, these include weight loss, fatigue, electrolyte (salt) imbalance and muscle fatigue. Repeated sniffing of concentrated vapors over a number of years can cause permanent damage to the nervous system, which means greatly reduced physical and mental capabilities. In addition, long-term sniffing of certain inhalants can damage the liver, kidneys, blood and bone marrow. Tolerance, which means the sniffer needs more and more each time to get the same effect, is likely to develop from most inhalants when they are used regularly.
Q: What happens when inhalants are used with other drugs?
A: As in all drug use, taking more than one drug at a time multiplies the risks. Using inhalants while taking other drugs that slow down the body's functions, such as tranquilizers, sleeping pills or alcohol, increases the risk of death from overdose. Loss of consciousness, coma or death can also result.