From the Helena Independent Record in Montana:
For National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week, the region’s Youth Connections Coalition provided all Helena elementary schools with lessons on inhalant use. The group is also working on educating local merchants so “they can be part of the solution.”
The article points out that “according to a 2008 survey of Helena’s middle and high school students, 170 reported sniffing glue, breathing the contents of an aerosol spray can, or inhaling other gases or sprays in order to get high.”
Paquelet Brown, a mom of two teens, noted, “They aren’t considered a drug because they are helpful products around the house. Improperly used, they can be very dangerous. This is not something we think to talk about, but we should, because as parents, we are the front-line defense for our kids. Education is the key to prevention.”
A nurse remarked,“Huffing is not new. But I don’t think people realize the brain damage it causes.”
Through a patient she worked with at a nursing home over 30 years ago, she saw the effects of inhalant abuse. “He was a beautiful, healthy kid that was devastated because of huffing,” she said, adding he couldn’t speak or control his bladder.
The groups also notes that they are “available to present inhalant awareness information to any organization. Call 324-1032 to schedule a time.”
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