Editing Inhalant (section)

===Patterns of use===
Inhalant drugs are often used by children, teenagers, incarcerated or institutionalized people, and impoverished people, because these solvents and gases are ingredients in hundreds of legally available, inexpensive products, such as [[deodorant]] sprays, [[hair spray]], [[contact cement]] and aerosol [[air freshener]]s. However, most users tend to be "... adolescents (between the ages of 12 and 17)."{{refn|1=For example, studies on inhalant use in New Zealand showed that "... most of the inhalant abusers are within the 14- to 18-year-old age group"; in the Philippines, the mean age of sniffers was 15; in Korea, a 1992 study showed "86 percent are male and are below the age of 20"; about 3/4 of Singapore inhalant users in a 1987 study were 19 or younger.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>}} In some countries, chronic, heavy inhalant use is concentrated in marginalized, impoverished communities.<ref>{{cite web
 | last = Williams
 | first = Jonas
 | title = Responding to petrol sniffing on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands: A case study
 | work = Social Justice Report 2003
 | publisher = Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
 | date = March 2004
 | url = http://www.hreoc.gov.au/Social_Justice/sjreport03/data/chap4.html
 | access-date = 27 December 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040927094057/http://www.hreoc.gov.au/Social_Justice/sjreport03/data/chap4.html |archive-date = 27 September 2004}}</ref>{{refn|1=Native children in Canada's isolated Northern Labrador community of [[Davis Inlet, Newfoundland and Labrador|Davis Inlet]] were the focus of national concern in 1993 when many were found to be sniffing gasoline. The federal Canadian and provincial [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] governments intervened on a number of occasions, sending many children away for treatment. Despite being moved to the new community of [[Natuashish, Newfoundland and Labrador|Natuashish]] in 2002, serious inhalant use problems have continued. Similar problems were also reported in [[Sheshatshiu, Newfoundland and Labrador|Sheshatshiu]] in 2000.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} }} Young people who become used to heavy amounts of inhalants chronically are also more likely to be those who are isolated from their families and community. The article "Epidemiology of Inhalant Abuse: An International Perspective" notes that "[t]he most serious form of obsession with inhalant use probably occurs in countries other than the United States where young children live on the streets completely without family ties. These groups almost always use inhalants at very high levels (Leal et al. 1978). This isolation can make it harder to keep in touch with the sniffer and encourage him or her to stop sniffing."<ref name="autogenerated1" />

The article also states that "... high [inhalant use] rates among [[barrio]] [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanics]] almost undoubtedly are related to the poverty, lack of opportunity, and social dysfunction that occur in barrios" and states that the "... same general tendency appears for Native-American youth" because "... Indian reservations are among the most disadvantaged environments in the United States; there are high rates of unemployment, little opportunity, and high rates of alcoholism and other health problems."<ref name="autogenerated1" /> There are a wide range of social problems associated with inhalant use, such as feelings of [[Suffering|distress]], [[anxiety (mood)|anxiety]] and grief for the community; violence and damage to property; violent crime; stresses on the [[juvenile delinquency|juvenile justice system]]; and stresses on youth agencies and support services.

====Africa and Asia====
Glue and gasoline (petrol) sniffing is also a problem in parts of Africa, especially with street children. In India and South Asia, three of the most widely used inhalants are the [[Dendrite (adhesive)|Dendrite]] brand and other forms of contact adhesives and rubber cement manufactured in [[Kolkata]], and [[toluene]]s in [[paint thinner]]s. Genkem is a brand of glue, which had become the generic name for all the glues used by glue-sniffing children in Africa before the manufacturer replaced [[n-hexane]] in its ingredients in 2000.<ref name="cassere2010">Cassere, Di (14 November 2000). [http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/glue-loses-high-to-save-street-kid-addicts-1.53018 Glue loses high to save street-kid addicts.] ''The Independent'' (South Africa)</ref>

The [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]] has reported that glue sniffing is at the core of "street culture" in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]], and that the majority of [[street children]] in the city are habitual solvent users.<ref name=Cottrell-Boyce>{{cite journal|last=Cottrell-Boyce|first=Joe|journal=African Journal of Drug & Alcohol Studies|year=2010|volume=9|issue=2|pages=93–102|url=https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajdas/article/view/64142/51938|access-date=2 December 2022|doi=10.4314/ajdas.v9i2.64142|title=The role of solvents in the lives of Kenyan street children: An ethnographic perspective|doi-access=free}}</ref> Research conducted by Cottrell-Boyce for the African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies found that glue sniffing amongst Kenyan street children was primarily functional – dulling the senses against the hardship of life on the street – but it also provided a link to the support structure of the "street family" as a potent symbol of shared experience.<ref name=Cottrell-Boyce />

Similar incidents of glue sniffing among destitute youth in the [[Philippines]] have also been reported, most commonly from groups of street children and teenagers collectively known as [[Rugby boy|"Rugby" boys]],<ref name="rugbyhuffing">{{cite news|url=http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/468093/rugby-cheap-high-citys-street-kids-first-two-parts|title='Rugby:' cheap high for city's street kids (First of two parts) |work=[[The Philippine Star]]|access-date=17 April 2013}}</ref> which were named after a brand of toluene-laden contact cement. Other toluene-containing substances have also been used, most notably the Vulca Seal brand of roof sealants. [[Bostik]] Philippines, which currently owns the Rugby and Vulca Seal brands, has since responded to the issue by adding [[bitterant]]s such as [[mustard oil]] to their Rugby line,<ref name="ecowaste">{{cite web|url=http://ecowastecoalition.blogspot.com/2013/04/government-urged-to-step-up-drive-vs_7.html|title=EcoWaste Coalition: Government Urged to Step Up Drive vs. Inhalant Abuse (Watchdog Pushes Ban on Sale to Children of Rugby, "Vulca Seal" and Allied Products)|work=[[Blogger (service)|Blogger]]|publisher=EcoWaste Coalition|access-date=17 April 2013}}</ref> as well as reformulating it by replacing toluene with [[xylene]]. Several other manufacturers have also followed suit.

Another very common inhalant is Erase-X, a [[correction fluid]] that contains toluene. It has become very common for school and college students to use it, because it is easily available in stationery shops in India. This fluid is also used by street and working children in Delhi.<ref>
{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/10826080500222792 |title=Street and working children of Delhi, India, misusing toluene: an ethnographic exploration |year=2005 |last1=Seth |first1=Rajeev |last2=Kotwal |first2=Atul |last3=Ganguly |first3=K. K. |journal=Substance Use & Misuse |volume=40 |issue=11 |pages=1659–79 |pmid=16253933|s2cid=22730800 }}</ref>

====Europe and North America====
In the UK, marginalized youth use a number of inhalants, such as solvents and propellants. In Russia and Eastern Europe, gasoline sniffing became common on Russian ships following attempts to limit the supply of [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]] to ship crews in the 1980s. The documentary ''[[Children Underground]]'' depicts the huffing of a solvent called [[Aurolac]] (a product used in chroming) by Romanian homeless children. During the [[interwar period]], the inhalation of [[diethyl ether|ether]] ([[etheromania]]) was widespread in some regions of Poland, especially in [[Upper Silesia]]. Tens of thousands of people were affected by this problem.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abucewicz |first1=Monika |title=Narkomania w Polsce jako problem społeczny w perspektywie konstrukcjonistycznej Część pierwsza: okres międzywojenny |trans-title=Drug addiction in Poland as a social constructionist perspective in Part One: the period between |language=pl |journal=Alkoholizm I Narkomania |issue=3 |volume=18 |pages=79–107 |year=2005 |url=http://www.ipin.edu.pl/ain/archiwum/2005/3/t18n3_5.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101011134718/http://www.ipin.edu.pl/ain/archiwum/2005/3/t18n3_5.pdf |archive-date=11 October 2010  }}</ref>

In Canada, Native children in the isolated Northern Labrador community of [[Davis Inlet, Newfoundland and Labrador|Davis Inlet]] were the focus of national concern in 1993, when many were found to be sniffing gasoline. The Canadian and provincial [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] governments intervened on a number of occasions, sending many children away for treatment. Despite being moved to the new community of [[Natuashish, Newfoundland and Labrador|Natuashish]] in 2002, serious inhalant use problems have continued. Similar problems were reported in [[Sheshatshiu, Newfoundland and Labrador|Sheshatshiu]] in 2000 and also in [[Pikangikum First Nation]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/DeathInvestigations/office_coroner/PublicationsandReports/Pikangikum/PIK_report.html|last= Lauwers|first= Bert|title= The Office of the Chief Coroner's Death Review of the Youth Suicides at the Pikangikum First Nation, 2006 – 2008|publisher= Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario|date= 1 June 2011|access-date= 2 October 2011|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120930122313/http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca//english/DeathInvestigations/office_coroner/PublicationsandReports/Pikangikum/PIK_report.html|archive-date= 30 September 2012|df= dmy-all}}</ref> In 2012, the issue once again made the news media in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/labrador-innu-kids-sniffing-gas-again-to-fight-boredom-1.1272679|title=Labrador Innu kids sniffing gas again to fight boredom|publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]|access-date=18 June 2012}}</ref> In Mexico, the inhaling of a mixture of gasoline and industrial solvents, known locally as "Activo" or "Chemo", has risen in popularity among the homeless and among the street children of [[Mexico City]] in the 21st century. The mixture is poured onto a handkerchief and inhaled while held in one's fist.

In the US, [[Diethyl ether|ether]] was used as a recreational drug during the 1930s [[Prohibition era]], when alcohol was made illegal. Ether was either sniffed or drunk and, in some towns, replaced alcohol entirely. However, the risk of death from excessive sedation or overdose is greater than that with alcohol, and ether drinking is associated with damage to the stomach and gastrointestinal tract.<ref>{{cite book
 | last = Brecher
 | first = Edward M.
 | title = The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs
 | url = https://archive.org/details/licitillicitdrug00brec
 | url-access = registration
|publisher=Little, Brown, and Company
 | year= 1972
 | isbn = 0-316-15340-0}}</ref> Use of glue, paint and gasoline became more common after the 1950s. Model airplane glue-sniffing as problematic behavior among youth was first reported in 1959 and increased in the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VnIOrgEACAAJ&q=google+books+model+airplanes+are+decadent|title=Model Airplanes are Decadent and Depraved: The Glue-sniffing Epidemic of the 1960s|first=Thomas|last=Aiello|date=1 July 2015|publisher=Northern Illinois University Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9780875807249}}</ref> Use of aerosol sprays became more common in the 1980s, as older propellants such as [[Chlorofluorocarbon|CFCs]] were phased out and replaced by more environmentally friendly compounds such as [[propane]] and [[butane]]. Most inhalant solvents and gases are not regulated under drug laws such as the United States [[Controlled Substances Act]]. However, many US states and Canadian cities have placed restrictions on the sale of some solvent-containing products to minors, particularly for products widely associated with sniffing, such as [[model cement]]. The practice of [[Inhalation|inhaling]] such substances is sometimes colloquially referred to as huffing, sniffing (or glue sniffing), dusting, or chroming.

====Australia====
{{see also|Indigenous Australian#Substance abuse}}
[[File:Gasoline for Sale in Phuket (5730235828).jpg|thumb|right|Gasoline (also known as petrol) is used as an inhalant in impoverished communities.]]
Australia has long faced a petrol (gasoline) sniffing problem in isolated and impoverished [[Australian Aborigines|aboriginal]] communities. Although some sources argue that sniffing was introduced by United States [[soldier|servicemen]] stationed in the nation's [[Top End]] during [[World War II]]<ref>{{cite web
 | last = Wortley
 | first = R. P.
 | title = Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights (Regulated Substances) Amendment Bill
 | work = Hansard – Legislative Council (South Australia)
 |date= 29 August 2006
 | url = http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/SAN/Attachments/Hansard/2006/LC/WH290806.LC.htm
 | access-date = 27 December 2006
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121901/http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/SAN/Attachments/Hansard/2006/LC/WH290806.LC.htm |archive-date = 29 September 2007}}</ref> or through experimentation by 1940s-era [[Cobourg Peninsula]] sawmill workers,<ref>{{cite web
 |last = Brady
 |first = Maggie
 |title = Community Affairs Reference Committee Reference: Petrol sniffing in remote Aboriginal communities
 |page = 11
 |work = Official Committee Hansard (Senate)
 |date = 27 April 2006
 |url = http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S9271.pdf
 |access-date = 20 March 2006
 |url-status = dead
 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060912011023/http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/S9271.pdf
 |archive-date = 12 September 2006
 |df = dmy-all
}}</ref> other sources claim that inhalant abuse (such as glue inhalation) emerged in Australia in the late 1960s.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> Chronic, heavy petrol sniffing appears to occur among remote, impoverished [[indigenous Australians|indigenous]] communities, where the ready accessibility of petrol has helped to make it a common addictive substance.

In Australia, petrol sniffing now occurs widely throughout remote Aboriginal communities in the [[Northern Territory]], [[Western Australia]], northern parts of [[South Australia]], and [[Queensland]]. The number of people sniffing petrol goes up and down over time as young people experiment or sniff occasionally. "Boss", or chronic, sniffers may move in and out of communities; they are often responsible for encouraging young people to take it up.<ref>{{cite web
 | last = Williams
 | first = Jonas
 | title = Responding to petrol sniffing on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands: A case study
 | work = Social Justice Report 2003
 | publisher = Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
 | date = March 2004
 | url = http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/sj_report/sjreport03/chap4.html
 | access-date = 27 December 2006 }}</ref>

A 1983 survey of 4,165 secondary students in New South Wales showed that solvents and aerosols ranked just after analgesics (e.g., codeine pills) and alcohol for drugs that were inappropriately used. This 1983 study did not find any common usage patterns or social class factors.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> The causes of death for inhalant users in Australia included pneumonia, cardiac failure/arrest, aspiration of vomit, and burns. In 1985, there were 14 communities in Central Australia reporting young people sniffing. In July 1997, it was estimated that there were around 200 young people sniffing petrol across 10 communities in Central Australia. Approximately 40 were classified as chronic sniffers. There have been reports of young Aboriginal people sniffing petrol in the urban areas around [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] and [[Alice Springs, Northern Territory|Alice Springs]].

In 2005, the [[Government of Australia]] and [[BP]] Australia began the usage of [[Opal (fuel)|opal fuel]] in remote areas prone to petrol sniffing.<ref>{{cite report|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/Committee/clac_ctte/petrol_sniffing/submissions/sub03.pdf|title=Submission to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee by BP Australia Pty Ltd|publisher=Parliament of Australia|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614103002/http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/petrol_sniffing/submissions/sub03.pdf|archive-date=14 June 2007|access-date=8 June 2007}}</ref> Opal is a non-sniffable fuel (which is much less likely to cause a high) and has made a difference in some indigenous communities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Petrol sniffing|date=23 January 2019 |url=https://www.menzies.edu.au/page/Research/Indigenous_Health/Smoking_alcohol_drugs_and_other_addictive_behaviours/Petrol-sniffing/|access-date=5 August 2022|publisher=Menzies School of Health Research}}</ref>