Media Contact:Bill Brozak
Alliance for Consumer Education
(952) 851-7227
bbrozak@tunheim.com
New Statewide Campaign Alerts Families to the Dangers of
Inhalant Abuse
Launch event with Minnesota Twins and statewide educational campaign aimed at raising awareness about growing substance abuse problem among kids
MINNEAPOLIS – It’s a problem that endangers one out of every four kids. It involves more than 1,400 common household, school and office products. It’s called “huffing” or “sniffing”: a growing epidemic of inhalant abuse that can be addictive and deadly – with kids as young as eight years old using inhalants to get high.
“That’s why the Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) is launching “Strike Out Inhalant Abuse in Minnesota,” said Colleen Creighton. ACE Executive Director. “This campaign is a state-wide awareness and coalition-building campaign aimed at alerting Minnesota families about the prevalence and dangers of inhalant abuse in children.
“Inhalants are particularly dangerous in that kids can die the first time and every time they use inhalants,” said Chris Cathcart, ACE secretary and President & CEO of the Consumer Specialty Products Association. “Because the high dissipates so quickly and inhalants are cheap and accessible, overdosing is a very real danger. Not only can inhalants cause heart attacks and suffocation, they can also lead to depression, irregular heartbeats and damage to the liver and kidneys.”
To kick-off the campaign, ACE and the Minnesota Twins are partnering for “Strike Out Inhalant Abuse Day” at the May 13 home-game against the Toronto Blue Jays. The first 10,000 fans through the gates will receive a “Strike Out Inhalant Abuse in Minnesota” poster featuring each of the Twins pitchers and their strikeout records. Local kids will participate in pre-game and 7th inning stretch events, and a new public service announcement featuring Twins pitcher and Stillwater native, Glen Perkins, will be debuted on the large video board at center field.
In addition to the Minnesota Twins, community organizations including Minnesota PTA, Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals, Minnesota Elementary School Principals' Association, Minnesota/Northern Lights SADD and Minnesota Teen Challenge, and businesses such as Ecolab and 3M have joined the coalition to strengthen the impact of the campaign. Awareness and coalition-building efforts will continue throughout the year to help spread the message about the dangers of inhalant abuse and how to prevent it.
Parents, educators and community leaders can learn more about potentially dangerous products, warning signs of abuse, how to approach the issue and more by downloading the Inhalant Abuse Prevention Toolkit at www.inhalant.org.
