Australia Changes Huffing Related Laws

From TestCountry.com

The Northern Territory Government recently approved changes to the Volatile Substance Abuse Prevention Act. The changes to the law “increase the amount of time a user can be kept in treatment from two to four months.” Additionally, the change “also reduces the amount of time it takes to get treatment orders.”

Previously, the minister had to determine whether treatment was necessary but now, the Chief Medical Officer can help speed up the response time and start treatment.

Brothers Pass Out in Parking Lot

From the Wheeling Intelligencer in West Virginia:

Two brothers passed out in a parking lot after inhaling computer dusters. When police responded the men were “non-responsive” and they found “one brother bleeding from his head, while the other had vomit on his pants.”

While the police officers called for medical assistance, one of the men “regained consciousness and continued inhaling the contents of one of the cans.” The man’s mother “quickly pulled the can from his hand and slammed it to the ground.”

The mother noted she had come out of the store to find the brothers huffing cans of computer dusting sprays. Three cans were found on the scene. The men refused medical treatment and were each “charged with one count each of misdemeanor inhaling intoxicants.”

Middle Schooler Taken to Hospital After Huffing Highlighter

From the Northwest Florida Daily News in Fort Walton Beach:

A middle school student was taken to Bridgeway Center and then the hospital after “she appeared to be under the influence of something during school hours.”

The report notes she “told the principal she was huffing highlighters. She also said she wanted to kill herself.”

Deliberate Misuse of Inhaler in 1/4 of Teens

We've had a few questions on the inhalant.org message board in the past months about teens potentially using their asthma medication to get high. One poster's friend had a daughter whose inhaler recently needed to be refilled every week when it normally was only refilled every two or three months. Another's stepson was misusing his asthma medication and "has been eating this pills as if they are M&Ms!"

The University of Michigan News Service featured an article about a new study looking at the prevalence of inhaler abuse in teenagers. The study in question was performed by researchers at the U of M using 723 adolescents in thirty-two treatment facilities. The study reports that "nearly one out of four teens who use an asthma inhaler say their intent is to get high".

The lead author of the study, Brian Perron, declared that their findings "indicate that inhaler misuse for the purposes of becoming intoxicated is both widespread and may justifiably be regarded as a form of substance abuse in many cases."

The study also found that teens that abuse inhalers are more likely to abuse other drugs as well as have higher levels of distress. They were also more "prone to suicidal thoughts and attempts than youths who did not misuse their inhalers to get high."

From a survey of the study participants, "about 27 percent of youths who had been prescribed an inhaler used it excessively. In addition, one-third of all youths in the sample had used an asthma inhaler without a prescription."

So why would teens abuse their inhalers? What are the effects? The inhaler abusers said that they experienced positive feelings of euphoria, relaxation, and an increase in confidence.

The negative effects were "feeling more dizzy, headaches, rapid heartbeat, anxiety, irritability, and confusion."

The most common misusers of their asthma inhalers were females and Caucasians.

More Huffing, More Driving

In South Dakota, a 25-year old man abused computer duster (or, incorrectly, 'compressed air') and crashed his vehicle into several others.

Maconnell Baker is believed to have inhaled the duster as he was driving. Lieutenant James Johns, from the Rapid City Police Department, called it "a classic example of a 'huffing' or 'dusting' crash."

Baker struck a Jeep Cherokee travelling in the same direction, causing it to spin. He then hit the curb and drove on the sidewalk for awhile until he hit the side of a Honda Accord, whose driver was waiting to turn at an intersection.

He then ran into a parked motorcycle, owned by a nearby crossing guard who was helping children across the street as Baker drove out of control. According to the guard, none of the children were hurt, and that they were "very fortunate that it wasn't worse than it was."

The driver of the Accord was taken to the hospital and last reported in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.

The passenger in the Accord, a two-year-old, was not hurt.

The driver of the Cherokee was not hurt.

Baker was treated and released. He faces charges of driving under the influence and vehicular battery.

According to the article,

"This is not the first time Rapid City police have dealt with incidents allegedly involving huffing. A Rapid City teen was arrested Dec. 17 after crashing his vehicle into electrical boxes near the Rapid City Swim Center on Milwaukee Street. Police said they believed the 17-year-old was huffing compressed air shortly before the crash. He was arrested for driving under the influence and several other charges. At the time of the accident, police said it was the fourth crash in the past two months involving the abuse of compressed air."

There was another incident in addition to the crashes due to inhalant abuse - three months ago, a house caught on fire in Rapid City after the inhabitants were inhaling paint fumes.

Crash article from The Rapid City Journal.

Huffing Dust Remover in Fort Myers

In Fort Myers, Florida, a woman was spotted inhaling dust remover by police officers and EMS paramedics while sitting in her car in a Wal-Mart parking lot.

Sgt. Larry King, spokesman for the Lee County Sheriff, said that "It was quite obvious when he saw her huffing the aerosol from the can what was taking place."

The woman then slumped over in her seat and the deputy attempted to unlock the car door. When that failed, he broke the passenger window to extract her from the vehicle. She was sent to the hospital and then charged with inhaling dangerous chemicals.

She was "not trying to kill herself", but instead "going through a rough time and was just trying to clear her mind for a few minutes."

Article from WINKnews.com.

Man Steals Paint, Hannah Montana Camera

The Dayton Daily News' police blotter showed an interesting case this past weekend, after officers were called to a Meijer grocery store in Englewood, Ohio. A man had resisted a loss prevention officer who "asked why the subject had a can of spray paint and a Hannah Montana video camera and whether he paid for the items." The man refused to answer and fled the store.

After being apprehended, he complained of lightheadedness and having difficulty breathing, so a medic was called.

Earlier that day he had been caught trespassing on Motel 6 property and huffing paint.

After arriving at the hospital, he was served with a summons for theft, trespass, and disorderly conduct/public intoxication.

Three Girls Huff on Bus, Become Ill

In Rhea County, Tennessee, parents are becoming aware of a 'dusting' fad with their kids.

On April 9th, three girls aged 13-15 used a computer duster to get high on the bus on the way to school. Upon arrival, one of the girls began to throw up and was taken to a local medical center. Soon after, the two other girls became nauseous and threw up, and were also taken to the medical center.

The school's Resource Officer investigated and found out what happened. He confiscated the can of computer duster and charged the girls with inhaling the chemical for unlawful purposes amd took them to the Rhea County Juvenile Detention Center.

One of the girls needed to be taken back to the medical center after she was sick again. Judge Jim McKenzie then released the girls to their parents. On the subject of inhaling computer duster, he says that,

"This is the same as huffing propane — we had a kid die of that on the mountain a while back—gasoline, markers, White Out, anything like that. They are all against the law and most of them can kill you.”

He also suggested that parents keep an eye out for warning signs in their children, such as having multiple cans of computer duster or odd smells on their breath or clothes.

“I’d encourage parents to check their kids’ backpacks every day regardless of their age. If they find Dust-Off or glue or spray paint or a bunch of Magic Markers, they should call my office or the Rhea County Sheriff’s Department so we can get them some help.”

Story from The Herald-News.

19-Year-Old Charged With Death of Friend

A sad case of inhalant-related death has led to a trial in Blenheim, New Zealand beginning today. Tristian Beckett, 19, is charged with the manslaughter of his friend, Thomas Hillman, 18, back in October of 2006.

The two teenagers along with three friends were in a two-door car inhaling LPG, or liquid petroleum gas. They were passing around the canister when Tristian flicked a lighter, causing an explosion.

Glenn Marshall, the prosecuter, was quoted in One News describing the incident:

"Blue flame rolled around the ceiling of the vehicle. All the occupants panicked and you can imagine that there was pandemonium in the vehicle at the time with people screaming trying to get out of the car."

Crystal River, the owner of the car, said that they had been joking about the risks of dying and what they would do if one of them got into trouble,

"Then we were talking about lighting (cigarette) lighters and Thomas had his huff and Tristian flicked the lighter."

She cried when she talked about the explosion and getting out of the car. Thomas Hillman had been sitting behind her. She said,"I didn't pop the seat," and that she saw Tristian pulling Thomas out of the car. After that, she witnessed Tristian returning to the car for the LPG bottle, turning it off, and taking it down the street.

Alixandria Hilliard, another passenger, thought she remembered Thomas "partly walking beside the accused and being partly dragged to safety," while making grunting noises.

The court is trying to prove whether or not flicking the lighter went beyond carelessness into gross negligence.

Inhalant Abuse Popular on Street

The Narconon Program of Atlanta, Georgia was featured in TransWorldNews today for their work with reducing inhalant use amongst homeless youth in cities worldwide. They describe the conditions of life on the street and the appeal of inhalants, explaining that,

"One way to stave off hunger pains, and help them forget where they are, is to take drugs. While many children, who can be as young as 5 years old, may drink alcohol, smoke weed, or do other hard drugs, the majority prefer to “fly,” huffing glue.

Yes, glue. Glue made to repair shoes is the drug of choice for these homeless children. For a few pennies, which they can always beg, or steal (borrowing is not in their vocabulary), the pain brought on by hunger, heat, cold, or the simple fact that they were abandoned, can be alleviated by huffing.

Give them an empty soda bottle, or a plastic bag, a few pennies worth of shoe glue, called “Resistol” (trademark) in Latin America, and they can forget. Be happy. Sleep."

They have several initiatives in place in order to combat this trend, such as an orphanage in Honduras, which

"has been getting kids off the streets and into a safe environment through dedication of their staff and with the help of Narconon Drug Rehab and other Atlanta charity groups.

Narconon of Georgia helped a Honduran medical doctor establish the Narconon New Life Detoxification Program in this orphanage to aid in the growing epidemic of addicted street orphans in their country.

The sauna program had astounding results with the children and has been praised by the Dr. Vega as being beneficial to the children in their drug rehab efforts."

One of the counselors at the orphanage stated that,

"The children arrive here and behave like little animals. They have no moral code, won't listen to anyone, run wild. However, the Narconon Sauna Program removes the toxins from their bodies and they become happier, more social, like little children again. They become social people."

Mary Rieser, Narcanon's Executive Director, says that

“Narconon of Georgia staff have a special place in their heart for children. It is one thing to admit a full grown adult into drug rehab, but to see a young child passed out in the streets because they are drunk or high is very sad. These children have no hope unless we do something about it.”

There is also a video available with the article that further explains these issues.

Inhalant Use in India

Expressindia.com's "Region Drug Abuse Statistics Way Ahead of National Average" indicates that inhalant abuse is one of several drug problems that are being faced in Chandigarh, India. The Postgraduate Institute De-addiction Centre handles many of these cases.

While patients of all age groups and economic status are victims of drug abuse, substance abuse is fairly common among teenagers and young adults below 25 years of age. Common inhalant abuse includes white ink, petrol fumes and iodex. “We see around 30 cases of inhalant abuse a year and the number is increasing,” say doctors at the Centre.

Number One Brain Cell Killer

4Mind4Life.com just came out with a list of "50 Things That Kill Brain Cells". Not surprisingly, the number one killer of brain cells - sniffing paint. It ranked ahead of other harmful activities such as:

• doing cocaine (2)
• getting a concussion (4), and
• going through chemotherapy (21)

Other inhalants were also mentioned, including:

• cleaning solvents (35)
• paint remover (40), and
• nitrous oxide (48)

Inhalant abuse not only affects the brain but can also lead to other serious medical issues, such as liver and kidney damage, hearing loss, bone marrow damage, and heart problems. Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome can occur the first time anyone tries inhalants, and occurs when the heart beats rapidly and erratically and eventually stops.

Driving Under the Influence

Three stories in the past week:

In Benton County, Iowa, the District Court is being sued for not suspending the license of 18-year-old Jordan Miller who drove her car down the wrong lane and collided with another vehicle, leaving the driver with life-threatening injuries. Jordan was under the influence of inhalants at the time of the crash. The other driver, Thersia Herron, has been left with $250,000 in medical bills and more are expected. The lawsuit says that the state should have known that Jordan was a threat to other drivers and revoked her license after past infractions.

Hunter Baker, from Enola, Pennsylvania was arrested on Monday after he huffed aerosol fumes and passed out while driving, swerving into another line and hitting a vehicle head-on. One of the passengers in his car broke an eye socket and required thirty stitches.

A mother who was arrested in West Virginia inhaled "an unidentified intoxicating substance", and after passing out accidentally hit the gas while her 5-month-old daughter and another passenger were in the car. The vehicle crossed the street and went into a nearby back yard, after which it took down two fences and went over a six-foot embankment. Then, the car went up a three-foot embankment and struck a building. The driver was not hurt but the baby received a head injury and the passenger was experiencing head and back pain.


Abusing inhalants and driving is not only harmful to the inhaler, but can be dangerous for the passengers, other drivers, and innocent bystanders. Parents usually tell their children not to drink and drive, but huffing and driving is a lethal combination as well.