Editing Inhalant (section)

{{short description|Chemical, often household, breathed in to cause intoxication}}
{{Redirect|Huffing|the 1978 song|Huffin|other uses |Huff (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Sniffing glue|the punk zine|Sniffin' Glue{{!}}''Sniffin' Glue''}}
{{Distinguish|Inhaler}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox medical condition (new)
 | name = Inhalant use
 | image = Toxicoman_-_Substance_abuse.jpg
 | caption = A man huffing an inhalant
| pronounce       =
| field           = [[Toxicology]], [[psychiatry]]
| symptoms        =
| complications   = {{hlist|General: [[Suffocation]]||[[Hypoxia (medical)|hypoxia]]|[[cerebral hemorrhage]]|[[brain damage]]|[[hypercapnia]]|[[coma]]|[[pulmonary aspiration]]|[[pneumonia]]|[[poisoning]]<br />
Gases: [[Frostbite]]|[[aerosol burn]]s|[[chemical burns]]<br />
Solvents: [[Stroke]]|[[cancer]]|[[cardiac arrest]]|[[heart attack]]
}}
| onset           =
| duration        =
| types           =
| causes          =
| risks           =
| diagnosis       =
| differential    = [[Alcoholism]], [[inhaled anesthetics]], [[marijuana abuse]], [[tobacco smoking]], [[crack cocaine]], [[methamphetamines]], [[List of medical inhalants|medical inhalants]], [[chasing the dragon]]
| prevention      =
| treatment       =
| medication      =
| prognosis       =
| frequency       =
| deaths          =
}}
'''Inhalants''' are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce [[Substance intoxication|intoxication]], in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They are inhaled at room temperature through [[volatilization]] (in the case of gasoline or [[acetone]]) or from a pressurized container (e.g., [[nitrous oxide]] or [[butane]]), and do not include drugs that are sniffed after burning or heating.{{efn|For example, [[amyl nitrite]] ([[poppers]]), [[gasoline]], nitrous oxide and [[toluene]] – a solvent widely used in [[contact cement]], permanent markers, and certain types of glue – are considered inhalants, but smoking tobacco, [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]], and [[crack cocaine]] are not, even though these drugs are inhaled as smoke or vapor.<ref name="FirstTasman2009">{{cite book|first1=Michael B.|last1=First|first2=Allan|last2=Tasman|title=Clinical Guide to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Mental Disorders|date=2010|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jyXxmyysU7gC&pg=PA203|access-date=20 April 2010|chapter=Substance-Related Disorders: Inhalants|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|isbn=978-0-470-74520-5|page=203}}</ref><ref name=LowinsonEtAl2005>{{cite book |year=2005 |author=Sharp, Charles W |author2=Rosenberg, Neil L |chapter=Inhalants |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HtGb2wNsgn4C&pg=PA336 |editor=Lowinson, Joyce H |editor2=Ruiz, Pedro |editor3=Millman, Robert B |editor3-link=Robert Millman |editor4=Langrod, John G |title=Substance Abuse: A Comprehensive Textbook |edition=4th |place=Philadelphia |publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins |isbn=0-7817-3474-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HtGb2wNsgn4C |access-date=2 December 2010}}</ref>}}

While a few inhalants are prescribed by medical professionals and used for [[List of medical inhalants|medical purposes]], as in the case of [[inhaled anesthetics]] and [[nitrous oxide]] (an [[anxiolytic]] and pain relief agent prescribed by dentists), this article focuses on inhalant use of household and industrial propellants, glues, fuels, and other products in a manner not intended by the manufacturer, to produce [[Substance intoxication|intoxication]] or other [[psychoactive effect]]s. These products are used as [[recreational drug]]s for their intoxicating effect. According to a 1995 report by the [[National Institute on Drug Abuse]], the most serious inhalant use occurs among [[Street children|homeless children and teenagers]] who "live on the streets completely without family ties."<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite report|url=http://archives.drugabuse.gov/pdf/monographs/148.pdf|title=Epidemiology of Inhalant Abuse: An International Perspective|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005024204/http://archives.drugabuse.gov/pdf/monographs/148.pdf|archive-date=5 October 2016|publisher=National Institute on Drug Abuse|id=NIDA Research Monograph 148|year=1995|editor-first=Nicholas|editor-last=Kozel|editor2-first=Zili|editor2-last=Sloboda|editor3=Mario De La Rosa}}</ref> Inhalants are the only substance used more by younger teenagers than by older teenagers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/inhalants|title=Inhalants|work=Drug Facts|publisher=National Institute on Drug Abuse|date=February 16, 2017|access-date=19 July 2017}}</ref> Inhalant users inhale [[vapor]] or aerosol propellant gases using plastic bags held over the mouth or by breathing from a solvent-soaked rag or an open container. The practices are known colloquially as "sniffing", "huffing" or "bagging".

The effects of inhalants range from an [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]]-like [[Substance intoxication|intoxication]] and intense [[euphoria]] to vivid [[hallucination]]s, depending on the substance and the dose. Some inhalant users are injured due to the harmful effects of the solvents or gases or due to other chemicals used in the products that they are inhaling. As with any recreational drug, users can be injured due to dangerous behavior while they are intoxicated, such as [[driving under the influence]]. In some cases, users have died from [[hypoxia (medical)|hypoxia]] (lack of oxygen), [[pneumonia]], [[heart failure]], [[cardiac arrest]],<ref name="gdcada.org">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408021738/http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/inhalants.htm |url=http://www.gdcada.org/statistics/inhalants.htm |archive-date=8 April 2009 |publisher=Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol & Drug Abuse |date=4 March 2006 |title=Inhalants – Facts and Statistics}}</ref> or aspiration of vomit. Brain damage is typically seen with chronic long-term use of solvents as opposed to short-term exposure.<ref name="emedicine.com">{{cite web|first=Nicholas J.|last=Connors|title=Inhalants|url=http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1174630-overview|date=5 May 2017|access-date=19 July 2017|work=Medscape}}</ref>

While legal when used as intended, in England, Scotland, and Wales it is illegal to sell inhalants to persons likely to use them as an intoxicant.<ref name="talktofrank.com">{{Cite web |title=Glues, gases and aerosols {{!}} FRANK |url=https://www.talktofrank.com/drug/glues-gases-and-aerosols |access-date=June 24, 2023 |website=[[Talk to Frank]]}}</ref> As of 2017, thirty-seven US states impose criminal penalties on some combination of sale, possession or recreational use of various inhalants. In 15 of these states, such laws apply only to persons under the age of 18.<ref name="nationaltasc.org">{{Cite web |date=November 11, 2017 |title=Inhalant Laws By State, Which States Give Jail Time and Fines for Inhalant Abuse |url=https://www.nationaltasc.org/inhalant-laws-by-state/ |access-date=June 24, 2023 |website=National TASC |language=en-US}}</ref>