CBS News: "Tweens Favor Inhalants to Get High: Study shows youngsters use inhalants as a 'gateway' to other drugs"
They also provided statistics from a recent government study of substance abuse in youth.
- 45% of those who abused inhalants also have psychiatric disorders, compared with 29% who abused other drugs.
- 12- to 17-year-olds made up 8% of substance abuse treatment admissions in 2006, but they made up nearly half of all admissions who say they used inhalants.
- 41% of teenage girls admitted to drug treatment centers involved inhalants; 30% of those admitted did not report inhalants.
The article also quoted Dr. H. Westley Clark, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Statistics director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. He says,
"Inhalants are everywhere in the house and garage, and parents often do not realize that the glue and paint are not being used for crafts or science projects,"
According to Clark's prepared statements, "while the data show that often children move away from using inhalants as they grow older, they often move on to other illicit drugs. Inhalants are a health hazard that can damage the brain, heart, liver, or kidneys." Clark warns parents that inhalants can "cause severe damage and even death."
CBS3: Philadelphia also ran a similar story, in "Health: Huffing". They interviewed Jordan Paul, 17, who has had a history of abusing inhalants. He mentioned that,
"Anything I could get my hands on aerosol, gas anything I could find ... It was very easily accessible I didn't have to pay for it. You know, I didn't have to look for it. You know, it was around. It was everywhere."
From HealthDay, in Yahoo News: "For Adolescents, Inhalants Are Drug of Choice". This article also ran in the Washington Post.
dbTechno, in Boston: "Young Teens Using Inhalants As Gateway Drug"
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