Street+Youth+and+Inhalants

**T****here are hundreds of different kinds of inhalants, roughly dividing into four different types:**

 * ====**Volatile solvents: These are the most commonly abused type of inhalants. "Volatile" means they evaporate when exposed to air, and "solvent" means they dissolve many other substances. Examples of solvents used as inhalants include benzene, toluene, xylene, acetone, naptha and hexane. Products such as gasoline, cleaning fluids, paint thinners, hobby glue, correction fluid and felt-tip markers contain a mixture of different types of solvents.**====
 * ====**Aerosol or spray cans: Hair spray, spray paint, cooking spray and other aerosol products contain pressurized liquids or gases such as fluorocarbon and butane. Some aerosol products also contain solvents.**====
 * ====**Gases: This includes some medical anesthetics, such as nitrous oxide ("laughing gas"), chloroform, halothane and ether, as well as gases found in commercially available products, such as butane lighters and propane tanks.**====
 * ====**Nitrites: Amyl nitrite, butyl nitrite and cyclohexyl nitrite (also known as "poppers") are different from other inhalants in effect and availability. They are sold as "room odourizer" or "video head cleaner." Amyl nitrite is used medically to treat cyanide poisoning; butyl nitrite is an illegal substance in the United States.**====

====**Most of the people who use solvents and aerosols are young - between 10 and 16 years old. Solvent use is associated with poverty, difficulty at school, lack of opportunity, problems at home and a high incidence of substance use in the family.**====

HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH INHALANTS
====**There are both physical and mental complications that are associated with inhalant use. Some of the complications may include Cardiac arrhythmias and/or Heart diseases; Suffocation, Asphyxia and/or other breathing disruptions; Unintended trauma - such as accidental burns; Damage to the optic nerve; Cognitive abilities become diminished and Kidney and/or Liver damage Many youth don't care or don't believe that these complications can happen to them but it does happen and most of the youth that suffer from any of these ailments eventually die from them and at a young age. Inhalers that ubuse chemicals have permanent irreversible brain damage as well as increased damage and problems with their lungs, heart and liver**.====

STREET YOUTH AND INHALANTS
====**Inhalants are known by street names such as: glue, gas, sniff (solvents); whippets (nitrous oxide); poppers, room odourizers, VCR cleaner - some sold under "brand" names such as Rush, Bolt, Kix (nitrites)( CAMH, 2008)**====