Inhalants

Volatile Solvents

Volatile solvents are liquids that vaporize at room temperatures, which are found in a variety of inexpensive, easily accessible, household products. Examples of volatile solvents include paint thinner and remover, dry-cleaning fluid, degreasers, gasoline, glue, nail polish remover, and felt tip markers.

Toluene (i.e., methyl benzene) is a common ingredient among most solvents. In an effort to prevent inhalant abuse, a number of industries have added mustard oil to products containing toluene because, upon inhalation, it causes nasal irritation. Hydrocarbon solvents, petroleum, and natural gas are the most commonly abused inhalants, with the exception of amyl nitrate and nitrous oxide.

Aerosols

Aerosols are sprays that contain propellants and solvents. Examples of aerosols include spray paints, deodorant, hair spray, and cooking oil sprays.

Gases

This category includes medical anesthetics (e.g., ether, chloroform, nitrous oxide [i.e., "laughing gas"]) as well as gases used in household products (e.g., butane lighters, propane tanks, whipped cream dispensers).

Nitrates

Although other inhalants are used to alter mood, nitrates are used primarily as a sexual enhancer. Whereas the use of other inhalants act directly on the central nervous system, nitrates serve as a muscle relaxant and act to dilate blood vessels. Examples of nitrates include cyclohexyl nitrate, isoamyl nitrite, and isobutyl nitrate, which are commonly referred to as "poppers" or "snappers." Although the Consumer Product Safety Commission has prohibited the use of nitrates, they can still be found in items such as video head cleaner, room deodorizer, or liquid aroma.

Trends in Inhalant Use

Because of their accessibility, inhalants are typically the first drugs used by young people. In particular, adolescents and preadolescents tend to be the group most associated with inhalant abuse, with the majority of inhalant abusers being under the age of 25. More specifically, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, inhalant abuse is widespread among young people in the United States. In fact, approximately 3% of children have tried inhalants by the time they enter fourth grade. Along these lines, data from national surveys suggest that inhalant abuse reaches its peak between the seventh and ninth grades, with eight graders typically reporting the highest rates of abuse. In addition, according to the 2006 MTF data, 10.5% of eighth-grade females reported using inhalants in the previous year, compared to 7.8% of eighth-grade males. Moreover, among 12th-grade students, 3.9% of females and 5.1% of males reported using inhalants. While inhalant abuse is not location specific—in other words, people in rural, suburban, and urban areas abuse inhalants—other factors that have been associated with inhalant abuse include adverse socioeco-nomic conditions, a history of childhood abuse, poor grades, and dropping out of school.

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