are commonly household and workplace substances that are sniffed to give the user an immediate head rush or high.Inhalants are sniffed from an open container or "huffed" from a rag soaked in the substance and held to the face.They include a diverse group of chemicals that are found in consumer products such as aerosols,plastic cement,nail polsih remover, lighter fluid,hair spray,insecticides and cleaning solvents.

Their easy accesiblity and low cost make inhalants,for many,one of the first substances abused.Studies have shown that between 5 an 15 percent of young people in the United States have tried inhalants,although the vast majority of these youngsters do not become chronic abusers.



EFFECTS OF INHALANTS ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

When vapors are inhaled,they are absorbed through the lungs and enter the blood stream.Once in the blood stream the chemicals travel to the brain and other tissues through out the body.Most inhalants that are abused depress the functioning of the nervous system.However,the effects of each inhalant are difficult to determine because each product is made up of different chemicals and each person may breathe in different amounts of each chemical.Nevertherless,these chemicals do have significant effects on the nernous system.

EFFECTS OF USING INHALANTS

• sudden death;presumably from cardiac arrest
• suffocation;typically seen with inhalant users who use bags'
• asphyxia;solvent gases can significantly limit available oxygen in the air causing breathing to stop
• visual hallucinations and severe mood swings
• numbness and tingling of the hands and feet VARIETY OF INHALANTS

chemical	chemical contents
hair spray	flourinated hydrocarbons;propane;isobutane
cleaning fluids	chlorinated hydrocarbons
typewriter correction fluids	trichoroethane
nail polish remover	acetone;aliphatic acetates;benzene
gasoline	hydrocarbons;tetraethyl lead
glue;rubber cement	toluene;acetone;benzene;xylene;ethanol;chloroform
paint/paint thinner	toluene;acetone;benzene;xylene;ethanol
lighter fluid	hydrocarbons
room deodorizer	amyl,butyl,and isobutyl nitrite
marker pens	toluene