"Understanding Adolescent Inhalant Use" A Key Takeaways

A new SAMHSA study “Understanding Adolescent Inhalant Use” by Rachel N. Lipari, Ph.D. discusses current trends in inhalant abuse. This report explores inhalant abuse trends among adolescents between the ages of 12-17 collected from The National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Of the 1.8 million people who reported abusing inhalants in the past year to get high, 684,000 were adolescents between the ages of 12-17 with use decreasing in age. The entire report can be found here. Key findings include:

·       Felt-tip pens/markers or magic markers were the top reported type of inhalant used to get high 6.7% with glue, shoe polish, or toluene coming in second and spray paints in third.

·       Female adolescents reported higher usage of inhalants compared to male adolescents (3.2% vs. 2.3%)

·       Adolescents of all races/ethnicities, across the United States are vulnerable to inhalant abuse

·       There were no statistically significant differences in the percentage of inhalant abuse depending on geographical location

Although only 684,000 adolescents reported using inhalants to get high, this report highlights the continued need to educate parents, teachers, and teens about the risks of inhalant abuse. To learn more visit: www.inhalant.org