Parenting Ages 0 through 24

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from the Wire Services

Children as Young as 4 & 5
Inhalant Abuse on the Rise:
Alabama, Alaska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia roll out programs to curb use among children.

WASHINGTON, March 9 2004 -- A school-based program to educate parents on the risks of inhalant abuse was launched today in response to the increasing misuse of common household products by adolescents to get "high."


Product shown for illustration of categories only

The Inhalant Abuse Prevention Program, sponsored by the Alliance for Consumer Education (ACE) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), will roll out in Alabama, Alaska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia this spring before going national in the fall.

According to recent data from the U.S. government-funded "Monitoring the Future" survey, one in every 5 students reports having abused inhalants by eighth grade. Other data from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) show that fewer children today associate abusing inhalants with serious health risks, which experts suggest means an increase in abuse of inhalants.

The Alaska Profile on Drug Indicators reports that the percentage of adolescents who abuse inhalants is second only to the number who abuse marijuana. In some communities, experts believe as many as 90 percent of all elementary school students have tried or are abusing inhalants. Alaska is the only state with a treatment center - the Tundra Swan Inhalant Treatment Center - dedicated solely to helping teens addicted to inhalants.

More than 1,400 inexpensive and readily-available products -- including correction fluid, nail polish remover, computer dust removal spray, hair spray, pressurized dessert toppings, air freshener, felt tipped markers, spray paint, glue, butane lighters and cooking spray -- are "huffed" or "sniffed" by children to achieve short-term intoxication. For less than $2 and a rag or paper bag, a child can get highs similar to those produced by alcohol.

"Inhalant abusers risk an array of devastating medical consequences," said George Rodgers, Jr., M.D., Ph.D. of the University of Louisville's Sections of Pharmacology and Toxicology and International Pedia-trics. "When used inappropriately, chemicals found in commonly-abused products can kill a child the first time he or she `sniffs' and cause irreversible damage to the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys and liver."

 
Among users, inhalant use is referred to as "huffing," "bagging," "sniffing," and "wanging." 

These are the most common household sources for Inhalants:

  • Air fresheners
  • cooking spray
  • oven cleaner
  • felt-tipped pens
  • nail polish remover
  • Paint Thinner
  • aerosol whipped cream
  • Whipped Cream Cartages
  • correction fluid
  • computer dust removal spray
  • hair spray
  • spray paint
  • glue
  • butane lighters

 

"Inhalants can be addictive, with children moving on to marijuana, narcotics and alcohol," said Carrie Anderson, M.D., associate director of the family practice residency program at St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers, Indianapolis, Ind. "Unfortunately, diagnosis of abuse is difficult, treatment complex and the rate of relapse is high. We need to focus our energy and resources on prevention, especially among preadolescents and adolescents," she said.

"Our national tracking study reports significantly fewer kids see the risks of using inhalants to get high," said PDFA President and CEO Stephen J. Pasierb. "These attitudinal data tell us one thing: the number of teens abusing inhalants is very likely to increase - and will continue increasing - until we educate them and their parents about this dangerous form of substance abuse."

The ACE Inhalant Abuse Prevention Program will provide school counselors with specially developed kits containing guidelines and handouts for use in education sessions with parents of elementary and middle-school age students. The Program's goal is to increase the number of parents who include the risks of inhalant abuse in discussions with their children about drugs and alcohol from the current 47 percent to 80 percent by 2007.

"This is an ambitious undertaking, but the alternative - the status quo - is unacceptable," said Carlene Kreider, Vice President-Innovation for Seaquist Perfect Dispensing and President of the Board of Trustees for ACE.

"Talking to our kids and their parents about the risks of substance abuse is part of our core responsibilities as counselors," said Barbara Shogren, president of the Alaska School Counseling Association. "This program will help us do a better job of including inhalant abuse in these discussions."

Source: Alliance for Consumer Education
 

 
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