Study shows: First drug kids use often found in homes

Today marks the beginning of the 17th annual National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week. The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition (NIPC) held a press conference to discuss recent surveys and statistics, the facts about inhalant drug use by youth in America, and improvements in building safety regulations which will prevent this harmful practice.

To introduce the topic, NIPC Executive Director Harvey Weiss stated, “Why is this important? There’s a couple facts to keep in mind: Inhalants are the first drug a young person will experiment with, even before alcohol, marijuana, and meth. And that’s why it’s considered a gateway drug. Inhalants are more addictive than cocaine or amphetamines. Inhalants can lead to antisocial behavior… and any time an inhalant is used, it can be a fatal episode; even the first time.” The statistics show that 17.2% of youth ages 12-17 first experiment with drugs by sniffing household products.

Dr. Tim Condon, Deputy Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, shared the results of this year’s “Monitoring the Future” survey. The statistics showed, “9% of 8th graders have used inhalants in the past year. That’s phenomenal, and of course our 8th graders, the youngest… are those who are using the most.” Thousands of items can be abused for this purpose and are sold legally to minors.

Condon continued, “Disturbing news: The first data point was that there was a decrease of perceived risk of inhalants regularly between 8th graders from 2007 to 2008… Not only that but the disapproval rate among young people actually decreased as well.” Decrease in perceived risk and simultaneous decrease of disapproval is usually indicative of a future increase in the use of the drug.

Dana Prothro, a mother who lost her 19 year-old daughter to inhalant drugs, has become an active voice in the anti-inhalant movement. In 2007, her daughter tried to get high using household air-conditioner fluid, and the event was tragically fatal. Prothro has successfully lobbied to change air-conditioner model codes; the guidelines now call for locking caps on outside refridgerant access points. “We now need the states to incorporate these 2009 model codes into their building codes. This is a crucial fight to prevent deaths and injury due to refridgerant huffing,” she explained.