Inhalant Death from Toluene

Via the Kimikareena blog:

Last week a coroner inquiry heard that a 42 year old man’s death back in July was due to toluene poisoning caused by glue sniffing. Employees at a coffee shop found a man dead in the store’s bathroom. A fingerprint check revealed the man’s identity and police reports revealed that he had a history of inhalant abuse stretching back to 1990.

The post also notes that “while there have been several cases of addicts drowning or falling to the death from buildings after abusing inhalants, death by toluene toxicity is very rare.” It describes one case in 2001 where a 26 year old Malaysian was found dead in the backseat of his car with a plastic bag over his head. Tests revealed that he “had abused inhalants that contained toluene and died after breathing too much of it in the enclosed car.”