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1.8 Million Youth Initiate Inhalant Abuse in Three Years

An average of 598,000 youth ages 12-17 initiated inhalant use in the past 12 months, based on data from 2002-2004, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released today at a press conference by the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition to kick off National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week. This is 1.8 million new initiates to inhalants in three years.

The data in the report are extracted from three years of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Thirty percent of those initiating inhalant use in the past year were ages 12 or 13, while 39.2 percent were ages 14 or 15 and 30.8 percent were ages 16 or 17. The majority of these youth were white and from homes with incomes well above the poverty line.

The report, Characteristics of Recent Adolescent Inhalant Initiates, indicates that the most popular categories of inhalants for those who are recent initiates to the habit are glue, shoe polish or toluene (30.3 percent used); gasoline or lighter fluid (24.9 percent used); nitrous oxide or �Whippets� (24.9 percent used); spray paints (23.4 percent used); correction fluid, degreaser or cleaning fluid (18.4 percent used); other aerosol sprays (18 percent used); amyl nitrite, �poppers�, locker room deodorizers or �rush� (14.7 percent used); and lacquer thinner or other paint solvents (11.7 percent used).

�There is no bigger challenge today than being a parent. Children explore their world in ways we cannot begin to imagine,� SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said. �These new data show that too many pre-teens and young teens are sniffing or inhaling common everyday household products with potentially disastrous even deadly results. We hope to use this opportunity to help raise awareness among parents about the potential for danger in their own homes.�

Harvey Weiss, National Inhalant Prevention Coalition executive director, noted that

�The intentional misuse of common, everyday household products continues to rise for our youngest children. The unintended consequences of these choices can plague a child for years and, in some instances, be fatal, even at first time experimentation. Now is the time to marshal our collective efforts to reduce and prevent inhalant experimentation and abuse � our children�s future may depend on it.�

John Walters, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said: � While overall drug use among young people has declined substantially over the past four years, we must not lose our focus. Inhalant abuse remains a dangerous and potentially deadly behavior that parents need to be aware of. Too many parents are not aware that inhalants are as popular among middle school students as marijuana. We encourage all parents to learn the signs of inhalant abuse and to monitor their teens.�

"The problem of inhalant abuse remains particularly serious among 8th-graders, who may be unaware of the damage inhalants can cause," notes Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health. "Inhalants can harm the brain, liver, heart, kidneys, and lungs, and abuse of any drug during adolescence may interfere with brain development and increase the risk of addiction."

The fourteenth annual National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week is March 19 through 25.

National Inhalants Prevention Coalition information is available on the web at www.inhalants.org. SAMHSA�s data is available at www.oas.samhsa.gov. NIDA inhalants findings are at www.inhalants.drugabuse.gov

Date: March 16 , 2006
SAMHSA Contact: SAMHSA Press 240-276-2130
NIPC Contact: Harvey Weiss 1-800-269-4237

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