Advocates Urge Greater Focus On Perils of Inhalant Use

Inhalant usage rates rose among middle-school students between 2002 and 2003, according to data presented in March at a press conference held by the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition (NIPC) in Washington, D.C. The data prompted renewed calls for prevention of inhalant use from top government officials.

“The use of inhalants is a big concern since these products are legal and can result in irreparable brain damage and death,” said Charles Curie, the director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

“Make no mistake—SAMHSA, in collaboration with our partners gathered here today, will continue to educate the families of America on the dangers of inhalants.”

Inhalants are the only class of drugs for which usage rates are higher among middle-school students than high-school students. They include fumes from nearly 1,000 household products, such as rubber cement, correction fluid, spray paint, hair spray, and paint thinner.

Synergies, a nonprofit corporation based in Austin, Tex., founded the NIPC in 1992 to raise awareness about inhalant use.

According to the 2003 Monitoring the Future Survey, inhalant use among eighth-grade students rose from 7.7 percent in 2002 to 8.7 percent in 2003 (Psychiatric News, February 6).

In comparison, just 3.9 percent of seniors reported using an inhalant in 2003.

According to the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, which is published by SAMHSA, 10.5 percent of youths aged 12 to 17—more than 2.6 million youngsters—have used one or more types of inhalants during their lives.

Harm Not Perceived

Part of the problem is that many middle-school students don’t believe that inhalants can be fatal or even harmful, according to Stephen Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

Decreased perceptions of risk have often preceded increased usage rates. Pasierb shared results from the 2003 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study. This study, which used a sample of 7,270 seventh- through 12th-grade students, was conducted by Roper ASW Inc. between April and June 2003. For the first time, the 2003 survey also included a sample of 1,140 sixth-grade students.

The data revealed that in 2001, 68 percent of sixth graders agreed with the statement, “Sniffing or huffing things to get high can kill you.” By 2003, just 48 percent of sixth graders agreed.

A similar but less substantial drop was noted for eighth graders: 73 percent agreed with the statement in 2001 compared with 63 percent last year.

The survey also showed that inhalant use increased among sixth graders between 2001 and 2003 from 18 percent to 26 percent. Eighth-grade use increased from 22 percent to 26 percent in the same period.

“The youngest kids are displaying the weakest attitudes and the sharpest inclines in use,” said Pasierb. “We’re at a point where this could become a worsening trend.”

Easily Obtained, Deadly Consequences

That may translate into an increasing number of inhalant-related injuries and deaths, according to Nora Volkow, M.D., director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Inhalants, she told attendees, are substances that, in addition to being widely available to most children in schools and at home, are highly addictive and toxic.

Inhalant users have also been known to suffer extensive brain damage, Volkow pointed out, because the toxins in inhalants dissolve the myelin sheath surrounding neurons.

“These substances accumulate in the white matter” of the brain, she said, and their effects are “similar to what you see in certain instances of multiple sclerosis.” Deafness, blindness, tremors, and permanent personality changes are just some of the brain-related problems caused by inhalant use or abuse.

“These substances, when inhaled, can cause deaths by multiple mechanisms,” she said, by triggering arrhythmia of the heart, which can lead to cardiac arrest, or through asphyxiation.

According to Harvey Weiss, who is executive director of the NIPC, about 125 inhalant deaths are reported to the organization each year, though he suspects there are more.

In June 2001 David Manlove, a 16-year-old student at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis, Ind., became one of the growing number of youths to die from inhalants.

Manlove’s mother and father, Marissa and Kim Manlove, appeared at the press conference to talk about their son’s struggle with addiction, his death, and their quest to prevent other inhalant-related deaths.

When David was 15, the Manloves discovered that David had a substance abuse problem, and “after several painful and tearful confrontations,” said Kim, “he agreed to seek treatment with us at Fairbanks, a drug-treatment center.”

It was there that David began attending meetings and “acknowledging publicly that he was struggling with addiction,” Kim said, “and began passing regular drug screens that were part of the contract he had with the treatment facility and us. . . .

“Ironically and tragically,” he continued, “David’s desire to pass his drug screens may have been one of the reasons he began using inhalants.”

Days after he finished his sophomore year of high school in June 2001, David went swimming at a friend’s house. He and another friend left to buy computer cleaner at a nearby store and returned to the pool, where David began huffing the aerosol and diving underneath the water to intensify the high. After his second or third dive, he failed to surface, according to Marissa.

After about 45 seconds, David was hauled out of the water. Upon hearing the news, Marissa arrived with David’s older brother, Josh, and was “greeted by a sight that is a parent’s worst nightmare,” she said. “My beautiful boy, stretched out on a gurney, with the paramedics frantically conducting CPR.”

At a nearby hospital, paramedics continued their attempts to revive David, unsuccessfully. “With Josh and I standing next to David’s lifeless body, we asked the team to stop,” she said.

Through a memorial fund, the Manloves have produced a video about their son and his death from inhalants. In recent months, they have been showing it to churches and schools in the community.

“We can’t change what happened to David, but we can try to make a difference in the lives of those who could be touched by addiction and inhalant use,” said Kim

More information about the NIPC and facts about inhalant use are posted online at www.inhalants.org. ▪