Butane Death in South Africa

From the Independent Online:

On November 29th, a 23 year-old man was found dead, lying at the poolside of his brother’s house. He is suspected of abusing butane gas.

A few months ago, his father had found the man huffing lighter fuel in his bedroom, spoke to him about it, and thought the situation was concluded.

Sandra Pretorius, director of the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence notes that “only one to two cases from their monthly caseload of around 60 were butane based.” She also noted that in the past it was a popular inhalant for street children but is now more commonly used by a wider population and that the centre has seen inhalant cases in children as young as ten years old.

In addition, she remarked that drug use typically increases during this season as students are writing their exams and are “looking for stimulants to stay awake.”