Drugs Charities Call Upon Party Leaders to Take Action Against Legal Highs

Via World Net Daily News

This article summarizes the recent London meeting of four drug charities: Legal highs awareness charity, Angelus, Northamptonshire-based charity, and Solve It. The charities called upon party leaders to act against the dangers of legal highs. 

Their joint report "Legal Highs: An Action Plan for Change”, published June 26^th, sets out how Departments should be coordinating efforts on education, prevention, and information sharing. 

The full report can be read here.

Island Teenagers to Take Part in Drug Survey

via: Isle of Man, EU

The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD) will soon launch its 2011 questionnaire.

ESPAD's 2007 survey showed:
- 17 % of those surveyed used inhalants, which is also about twice the ESPAD average.

- 93% of those surveyed had consumed alcohol within the last 12 months, and 61 percent had been drunk during the same period.

- 24% of those questioned who had smoked cigarettes in the 30 days before the survey,, which was slightly below average.

-34% of the students said they had used cannabis during their lifetime and the proportion reporting use of drugs other than cannabis - 16 per cent - was more than twice the mean.

- 12% used pills in combination with alcohol.

Refocus and Reset

From Trans World News

A recently published survey conducted by The National Institutes of Health, examining drug education programs across the nation, has yielded a number of startling findings. Responses from 46,346 high school students were collected and carefully evaluated by NIH researchers who found “that while some areas of drug abuse are declining, such as alcohol, other types of abuse [seem to be] stalling or increasing- most notably inhalants.”

While the survey indicates prevailing drug use among adolescents, results can only improve on national efforts to eradicate such behaviors. Clearly, a more inhalant focused drug prevention curriculum should be incorporated into our nation’s schools to circumvent future drug abuse among teens.

Inhalant Session in Vineland, NJ

From the DailyJournal.com in NJ:

Last Friday in Vineland, an inhalant abuse awareness session took place at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home. The session was “hosted by The Southwest Council, a community-based drug prevention organization.”

Interestingly, “Joseph M. Williams, executive director of the Southwest Council, said that, in the past three years, his organization has discovered the majority of its clients used inhalants in the early days of their experimentation.”

Tuesday Talks with Tori: Antonio Roque Making an IMPACT

Antonio Roque is the hardworking advisor for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) prevention and early intervention student assistance program, IMPACT. IMPACT focuses on students with issues resulting from family violence, divorce, drugs and alcohol, loss of a loved one, or living in gang territory, and currently has programs in 69 middle and high schools. IMPACT trained teachers and counselors identify students who may be suffering from any of the abovementioned concerns and encourage them to take part in an IMPACT student educational support group, which serves as a safe place for students to talk about their feelings and concerns.

Taking Care of Inhalant Abuse in LAUSD
In 2007, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that Los Angeles Unified School District students are at a “greater risk” of abusing inhalants than their US counterparts. “The current increase of inhalant abuse by our youth is an alarming fact that has our coordinators in need of resources, staff training, and an overall awareness of the problem to students, school personnel, parents, and the community.” In order to raise this awareness, IMPACT’s department took part in a series of meetings with city officials and community-based drug education organizations to address the increase use of inhalants by youth in the Los Angeles community. “The meetings resulted in the formation of a collaborative made up of representatives from the community at large.”

In addition to being part of the collaborative, Roque has been presenting to school staff and parents throughout LAUSD. “On April 12 of this year, I presented at the 12th Annual Parent Summit held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. On April 30th, I presented at the Educate, Energize and Empower Series on Child Safety—Gangs/Games and TV Violence/Alcohol/Internet/STD.” On both occasions, parents were shocked to find how easily everyday products are purchased and abused.

Throughout his presentations, Roque has received one common and clear message from parents: Education for parents and students is an overdue necessity.
“Though the parents are not totally in the dark about inhalants, the one prevalent barrier to overcome is the idea of, ‘not my child. My child is not doing that!’ This can only be overcome through more awareness and educational events.”

“The critical message for us as educators to convey to parents is the dual importance of talking to their children about inhalants and how to talk to them about the topic. The reports of children as young as 6 years of age having tried inhalants are an alarming fact that we should all take into account when discussing harmful substances and products with our children. As parents, these conversations need to start at an early age; and as teachers, we should be incorporating these topics into our healthy-living lessons in the classroom.”

In the new school year, Health Education Programs and IMPACT are planning more staff developments, awareness activities, presentations, and collaborations in the hopes of bringing down the high rate of inhalant abuse in local communities.

Survey in Erie Shows Inhalant Use Up

The Civic Institute and Erie County Health Department in Pennsylvania just released the results of a county-wide survey of middle and high schoolers yesterday.

The creators of the study were concerned about accurate results, so Amy Eisert, the director of the Civic Institute, came up with a solution: "We included trick questions in the survey. One of them was that we listed a make-believe drug and asked students if they ever used it. If they said yes, we tossed out their survey."

Some highlights:

• The number of students who gambled in the last year was down, from 35% two years ago to 29%.
• Students who smoked in the last thirty days declined from 12.4% to 11.5%.
• Binge drinking and marijuana usage also decreased.

However, inhalant usage increased 1%.

The superintendent of Erie Schools, Jim Barker, was not surprised.

He says that the survey "mirrors what's happening in the state and across the nation," and that the report presented "clear reasons why schools, community agencies and parents have to work together" to prevent students from using drugs or alcohol.

Charlotte Berringer, the director of community health for the county Health Department, believes that "reports like this are invaluable because agencies who apply for funding need to show good, hard data. This report will help us put in evidence-based programming to deal with some of these issues."

Hopefully inhalant abuse will be addressed and more education provided in Erie County schools.

From GoErie.com.

Safe Kids Against Inhalants

Safe Kids of Central Shenandoah Valley has done a great job in raising awareness of inhalant abuse prevention in their community! After receiving a grant from the Virginia Department of Health in 2007, they began their efforts to spread inhalant abuse prevention messages to youths.

They have collaborated with the Harrisonburg City Schools and Risk Watch to issue a poster and essay contest for 7th graders. Their poster and essay contest was such a success last year, they are doing the same project again this year. Each participant will receive an "Inhalants Stink" t-shirt and tickets to the movie theater. The program is currently wrapping up for 2008, and they are happy to announce there have been more participants this year than last!

Safe Kids and the Strong Families Great Youth Coalitions have been working hard on getting inhalant prevention messages out to the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County community. Their Inhalant Abuse prevention display board has been rotated around Harrisonburg businesses and agencies during the past year. The board contains essential information for parents, educators and kids. That board has rotated around 10 businesses in Harrisonburg.

In addition to that, Safe Kids has incorporated table tents and tray liners which appear in middle schools and restaurants.

Safe Kids has also had a presence at several symposiums and fairs during the year. They exhibit their information in a variety of ways, including: table tents, bookmarks, tray liners, Virginia Department of Health’s tip sheet, and ACE’s What Every Parent Needs to Know About Inhalant Abuse brochures to name a few.

Notably, the group featured Inhalant Abuse prevention at the Harrisonburg Teen Pregnancy Prevention’s 2007 Teen Health fair. Approximately 400 teens were in attendance at the fair!

For more information on this group, or to find out how you can get involved, please contact Cindy Reeves at 540-433-4421 or email creeves@rhcc.com.

Great Advice on Helium.com

Helium.com has eight different articles written about inhalants, all containing important information about inhalant abuse.

Eric Buckingham describes the telltale warning signs and the damage that inhaling chemicals can do to your body. He asks parents to,

"Look around the house and trash for lots of empty cans or containers that should not be there. Huffing will also leave its mark on the face and hands of the addict. Depending on their pattern of abuse they can huff the chemical directly from the can, put it in a brown paper bag, and even soak a towel or cloth in it and inhale it that way. So watch for these items as well."

Effie Moore Salem referenced ACE and explains that kids may abuse inhalants,

"because they mistakenly believe that since these chemicals are so regularly used and common they are safe. The initial reaction is a high' or a funny feeling that they like. Their friends do it and they are urged to try it. Like other stimulants, it is addicting and once a habit is formed it is hard to break."

Valli Sarvani advises parents to:

"Teach early: Educate kids between ages 7 and 12 to think of toxic household products as poisons. Explain them how, many items produces gases that can make sick. If your children help with cleaning involving dangerous products, guide them to read the label warnings and directions.

Discuss only the dangers: Teach your kids how people abuse household products before they enter middle school. Explain them these products are as dangerous as alcohol and drugs. Discuss only the risks, and avoid mentioning specific items.

Be a friend: Parents are the most powerful influence on their teens. Be proactive and use that influence early and often. Talk to them as a friend in a positive tone. Give them assurance that you won't punish them.

Talk more frequently: Studies revealed that kids who learn a lot about the risks of inhalants or drugs from their parents are up to 50% less likely to use them. So discuss with them as many times as you can.

Monitor your child: Monitor your child's activities. If you suspect your child huffing, ask about it directly. At that time avoid using accusatory language. If your child dislikes discussing with you, seek counseling immediately."

Rachel Mcclain offers great advice throughout her article, beginning by saying,

"if someone offered my young son a bopper, a popper, a snapper or even something as potential innocuous sounding as a glading, I would probably let him extend his hand and make him say please and thank you. The trouble is, they aren't going to offer him these things while I'm around.

That's because these are street names for huffing. When you use the other names, like head cleaner, poor man's pot, hippie crack, bullet, bolt and rush among a few, it doesn't sound so innocent. If you didn't recognize a single one of those names, you probably aren't alone.

One of the best ways to protect your children against something like huffing is to learn what it is, and learn what the warning signs are so you can recognize it in your own child or in one of his or her friends."

Callista Meyer warns that,

"being a risky yet cheap, legal alternative to getting high, the ages most commonly associated with inhalant abuse are 12 to 15 years old. More often than not these early teens are trying inhalants before they even attempt smoking. There for it is important to discuss the risks with your child before they enter junior high as this is when peer pressure reaches a peak."

All of the articles provide great information and statistics about inhalant abuse. Found another great source of information? Email us at info@consumered.org.

Grand Island Middle School Congress Meets

On Wednesday, we posted a story about Grand Island, Nebraska's concern about inhalant use in students. One of the responses of the school district to the increasing drug usage in their area was to form a Middle School Youth Congress, comprised of eighty-five middle schoolers who went on a retreat to become better educated in topics such as drug awareness and peer pressure.

The Congress seems to have been a great success. Chuck Matson of the Omaha Police Department explained the difference between using drugs to become healthy versus using them to get high. He especially focued on the abuse of inhalants, and discussed the physical harm that can occur to the body with inhalant use.

He also reminded the students that death can occur the first time that anyone tries inhalants.

Story from the Grand Island Independent.

R.O.C.K Against Inhalants

A Christian organization based in Ohio named R.O.C.K (Reclaim Our Community Kids) sponsored Drug Update 2008 to inform parents about the drugs that their children are using.

The Rev. Ralph Edwards agreed with other speakers present that the younger that a child is when he begins using drugs, the more likely he is to become addicted. Edwards encouraged parents to,

"spend time with them and know what they’re doing. It makes a difference. It’s not that addiction is anything new, but it’s getting to our kids earlier and earlier, younger and younger. There are more and more kids who just don’t get that they can die from it.”

A police officer from Beaver Township, Brian Hartman, was one of the presenters at the meeting. He focused on describing inhalants and their increasing appeal towards younger children: “We’re talking fourth-graders, even younger. They have easy access to these products in their own homes, at school, all around them, and many of them are using them.”

Article found at Vindy.com.

ACE and Rock Cats

OurSportsNetwork.com just posted the story that the Alliance for Consumer Education and the New Britain Rock Cats are joining forces to promote an anti-inhalant message to kids and their families throughout the baseball season.

The Rock Cats are the AA Eastern League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, and the manager John Willi has said that,

"We in New Britain are in awe of the work being done by the Alliance to address the important issue of inhalant abuse. The Rock Cats can provide ACE an ideal venue to reach families in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts and help to positively impact their lives."

Some of the features of this partnership include:

• Inhalant Abuse Awareness Night at the New Britain Stadium is being held on May 17th. The Rock Cats will be playing against the Portland Sea Dogs.
• ACE will distribute hats with the Rock Cats logo to the first 1,500 fans ages 12 and under.
• ACE members will be at the game to discuss inhalant abuse with parents and kids.
• Brochures will be available at all home games throughout the season.
• Public Service Announcements about inhalant abuse will run and use minor league baseball players to explain the dangers of huffing.
• The Rock Cats are holding an essay contest for kids 17 and younger asking them to write about why people should avoid using inhalants.
• The winners of this contest will meet the Rock Cats Players, be recognized on the field, and throw out the first pitch of the game.

We're very excited about this partnership and can't wait until game day!

Poster Contest Winners

The poster contest sponsored by The Prevention and Early Intervention Advisory Community Empowerment (PEACE), Youth for Youth LIVE! Guam, the Get Healthy Guam Commission, and the Marianas Variety ended on March 28th. The organizations received almost 150 submissions from both the high school and the middle school level. The judging criteria were creativity, boldness, originality, memorability, and attractiveness to teens.

All of the winners' posters will be displayed at the Youth for Youth conference and the E.C. does it! Health Fest on April 27th. The first place winners will receive a scholarship to attend the Youth for Youth conference.

Here are the top results in each category:

High School

First Place: Merlyn A. Pama, George Washington High School






Second Place: Maria Raposa, Simon Sanchez High School






Third Place: Kevin Marquez, Simon Sanchez High School







Middle School:


First Place: Angelica Clark, Jose Rios Middle School

Second Place: Hanna Taimanglo, Jose Rios Middle School












Congratulations to the winners and good luck at the conference!

SAFE Education in Virginia

The Chesterfield Observer of Chesterfield County, Virginia printed a front-page story about inhalant use yesterday. Virginia as a state as well as this particular region have been at the forefront of raising awareness about inhalants. SAFE (Substance Abuse Free Environment) is piloting programs in Carver, Swift Creek, and Salem Church middle schools. Sharyl Adams, SAFE's substance abuse prevention specialist, says that,

"If we hadn't gotten the survey results showing that we were twice the national average regarding inhalant abuse, quite frankly, we wouldn't be doing this."

Carver Middle School held the SAFE workshop in April, and Principal Don Ashburn recognized the immediate impact that it had on teachers:

"There was a bit of shock and ah-ha moments for our teachers. It was like seeing the piece of a puzzle come together. Sometimes in the past, teachers have seen a child with declining grades. They've made contact with the parents, the parents have conducted drugtesting and then you have this training and you go 'okay, it's clear to me now'" in realizing that inhalant abuse might just be the cause."

The article also mentioned SAFE's sponsorship of Sgt. Jeff Williams, along with his message of,

"Teachers, parents say, 'Don't tell the kids because then they'll try it.' My message is they already know, so we have to talk with our kids about it."

In addition, several good tips were presented at the end of the article, such as -

Tips for Educating Your Child:

• Beginning at an early age, talk about poison prevention and product safety.
• Read labels with your child and teach him/her how to do so.
• Talk to him/her about the serious effects of abusing products.
• Reinforce peer resistance skills and practice these with your child.
• Highlight that inhalants are poisons rather than drugs.

As well as:

Long-term effects of inhalant use:

• Memory loss
• Impaired vision
• Loss of coordination
• Slurred speech
• Reduced lung function
• Bone marrow damage
• Muscle weakness
• Depression
• Dementia

Inhalant Prevention Guide

The Virginia Department of Education recently promoted their booklet entitled "Inhalant Abuse Prevention: Staff Education and Student Curriculum" at the Inhalant Abuse Prevention Awareness Institute on March 12th in Staunton, VA.

This incredible resource highlights reasons for abuse, principles for abuse prevention, activities for classes, and many, many more topics. The photo to the left shows the guide being displayed by Arlene Cundriff, the coordinator the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program, part of the Virginia Department of Education.

Inhalant Abuse Prevention Awareness Institute

This conference, presented by the Virginia Inhalant Abuse Prevention Coalition, was held on March 12th in Staunton, VA. The Coalition consists of a group of concerned prevention professionals and educators who are dedicated to raising awareness of inhalant abuse by providing factual information and resources in an effort to decrease inhalant use across the state.


On the night of the 11th, an inhalant prevention summit was held and included all the leaders in the field. Wayne Frith, the facilitator for the evening, engaged the participants on how to utilize the most effective strategies to spread the message at both the community and the national level.

It went very well and a number of interesting topics were presented, such as:

The Tragedy of Inhalant Abuse - this the first topic, presented by Sgt. Jeff Williams. He spoke about losing his son to inhalant abuse and played several YouTube videos to highlight children's exposure to inhalants as being cool.

Inhalant Abuse Basics - Dr. Robert Balster of the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University explained what are inhalants as well as why and how they are abused.

Communities in Action - representatives from three different communities shared their approaches to inhalant abuse.

Teaching Kids About Inhalants - the updated Inhalant Abuse Prevention Manual was used to explain the principles for teaching young people about inhalants.

ACE was glad to be a part of this conference and to have our Inhalant Prevention Kits handed out to all attendees.

We'll be working with the Coalition for the next two years as they reach towards their goal of decreasing inhalant abuse in Virginia by 2009.

Virginia SAFE Presentation

The Midlothian Exchange highlighted the story of Sgt. Jeff Williams in its article "Parents' First Defense Against Inhalants". Sgt. Williams spoke on March 12th at CJW Medical Center to parents, educators, and officials at a presentation from SAFE (Substance Abuse Free Environment). Says Sgt. Williams,

“Parents have to step in and say, ‘no’ … The movies have made it fun. They didn’t tell them they could die,” Williams said after showing a number of posted Web site videos of kids taking repeated “hits” from household products. “It metabolizes within two minutes. After two minutes, you can’t test and find it in the system.”

However, one can find a number of the abused items in the kitchen, the garage and sprinkled in everyone’s household for every day use. There are over 1,400 household products that contain a range of gases such as propane and refrigerant that 9, 10, and 11-year-olds have been known to use to get high. Williams admits that locking up all the items will not alleviate inhalant abuse. “We’re stuck with it and have to educate and teach our children why not to do it,” Williams said. “It’s not compressed air.”

“These chemicals are poisonous when introduced to the human body,” he said. Williams added that parents are the first line of defense for their children when it comes to looking for signs of abuse. “When they have multiple household products without a reason … You know something is up, because they’re not dusting,” he said.

Adolescents will also overuse perfume, cologne, and breath mints to mask the odor of solvent-based inhalants, he added. However, the biggest challenge for parents is when they catch children using household products. “You need to avoid exciting or stressing the person out,” Williams said.

The article also provided a link for parents to take online training about inhalants.

Be Informed II

Inhalant abuse has been receiving some great exposure in Kempton, Pennsylvania. The fire station highlighted inhalant.org on their display board. Janna Zuber's sign from Bowie, Maryland is really gaining momentum!

Kim Manlove - A Parent Educating Parents

On February 28th, Hamilton Southeastern Schools presented a parents-only seminar about inhalants and prescription drug abuse in the home. One of the speakers at the meeting was Mr. Kim Manlove, who lost his son David to inhalant abuse.

The community forum went wonderfully, he said. There were about 175 parents present at the meeting. For the section on inhalants, they showed a new video as well as a PowerPoint presentation. Information was provided about the signs and symptoms of inhalant use, the associated paraphernalia, and the physical evidence.

He explained what a revelation it is for parents to realize just how many household and commonly-used products can be abused. “You don’t see parents saying, ‘I had no idea!’ about drugs, cocaine or alcohol,” he continued, “Inhalants are not on their radar screen.”

The questions from parents were varied, from wanting to know what specifically to look for in their child, to wondering what it was that drives kids to 'huff'. Although many believe that their kids are safe, he warns parents that there are products in their houses that have the potential to be abused.

Also speaking was a recovering inhalant abuser, who described his relationship with inhalants and why he used them, and what finally brought him to seek help.

One notable demonstration of Kim's that the audience will remember used a mirror and computer duster to show its potentially hazardous effects. He sprayed the mirror with an upside-down can of computer duster to show the frost that covers it. This revealed how cold the chemical inside can be, in order to further explain that it's not just compressed air. Frostbite around the nose and mouth can be one of the symptoms of abusing computer dusters.

We're glad that Hamilton Southeastern took such a proactive approach in educating the community and hope that more schools reach out in the future.

Kim Manlove also maintains a blog for Parent Partners to spread his prevention message even further.

Kentucky and NIPAW

The Bowling Green Daily News, in anticipation of NIPAW (National Inhalant and Poisons Awareness Week), ran a story about inhalant abuse yesterday. In studies, one in four Kentucky youths have tried inhalants at some point in their lives. Amy Hutchinson, the coordinator of the Monroe County Alliance for Inhalant Prevention, stated that

“Right now our goal is to do all we can to educate parents and students about the harmful and even deadly effects the poisons in these products can have on the brain and body. It’s a serious cause for concern that not many people know about. Plus it is considered a ‘gateway’ drug, which means that it often leads to the use of illegal drugs."

On teaching parents about inhalant abuse in their children:

"We encourage parents to educate themselves; to learn what is being used and how these products are being used. They need know what is readily available in their own homes. We also urge them to focus on safety when they talk to their kids. Inhalants are not drugs. They are poisons and toxins and should be described as such. Users can die the first, 10th or 100th time a product is misused as an inhalant. Even if they’ve done it before, there is no way to know how the next time will affect them.”

Monroe County is one of two counties in Kentucky that has received federal funding for its willingness to address the problem of inhalant abuse.

String of Inhalant Arrests

Another response to inhalant arrests was printed in the Hendricks County Flyer for Avon, Indiana on Thursday. Last summer, one town had four inhalant incidents and in January, a woman drove her truck into a house while huffing. Liutenant Chuck Parsons explains that inhalant abuse is harder to track, explaining that

"Huffing is very difficult to deal with. Unless you catch them doing it in your presence or if they’re still not in an impaired state, you can’t say they’re doing it. You might have someone that has paint all over their face, but knowing it in your heart and being able to prove it are two totally different things. That’s one of the main reasons that charges and arrests of that nature just don’t happen often."

The article continues to explain the risks and dangers of huffing, including Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. This occurs when the heart stops abruptly, and can happen the first or 1000th time one abuses inhalants.