The misuse of household products such as gases, glues and aerosols (also known as Volatile Substance Abuse, or ‘VSA’) is a serious problem in the UK, but remains one of the least talked about forms of drug use.
Of late, there has been increasing concern about the subject of solvent abuse, particularly amongst youths and adolescent populations. Recently, an inquest has been heard into the death of 14 year old school girl, Bethany Adcock, who died after inhaling fumes from a deodorant can whilst in her bedroom with a friend. The inquest told that the girl partook in the activity as result of a current craze of solvent abuse amongst schoolmates. There is a lack of public understanding and awareness into to the dangers of such abuse. This article focuses on inhalant abuse as recreational drugs that are used for their intoxicating effect.
Inhalants are a broad range of drugs whose volatile vapours are taken in via the nose and trachea. Volatile substances cover a wide range of products, such as gases, glues and aerosols. The products that are abused all have a legitimate day to day use, which means they can be easily obtained.
Inhalant users inhale vapour or aerosol propellant gases using plastic bags held over the mouth or by breathing from a solvent-soaked rag or an open container. The effects of solvent intoxication can vary widely depending on the dose and what type of solvent or gas is inhaled. The effects of inhalants range from an alcohol-like intoxication and intense euphoria to vivid hallucinations, depending on the substance and the dosage. They make people feel uninhibited, euphoric and dizzy.
Volatile substances are depressants, so they slow down your body’s responses. Statistics on deaths caused by inhalant abuse are difficult to determine. It may be severely under-reported, because death is often attributed to a discrete event such as a stroke or a heart attack, even if the event happened because of inhalant abuse. In some cases, users have died from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), pneumonia, cardiac failure or arrest, or aspiration of vomit. Pathologists have declared the outcome of administration unpredictable and the effect they have on the heart can cause death, even if it’s the user’s first time (known as Sudden Sniffing Death).
Research by the charity Re-solv, www.re-solv.org found that between 1983 and 2007, in the United Kingdom, the numbers of deaths associated with volatile substance abuse peaked in the early 1990s and fell to their lowest level in the mid-2000s. The age at death increased in both males and females. There was a fall in the proportion of volatile substance abuse deaths involving glues and a rise, particularly in adults, in the proportion involving gas fuels. Furthermore, according the Crime in England and Wales report 2009/10, there are twice as many adult VS-users in the UK as heroin-users.
However, solvent abuse is nothing new. Inhalant use, especially glue sniffing, is widely associated with the late-1970s punk youth subculture in the UK and North America. Raymond Cochrane and Douglas Carroll claimed that when glue
sniffing became widespread in the
late 1970s, it was "...adopted by
punks because public negative
perceptions of sniffing fitted in
with their self-image" as rebels
against societal values.
However, volatile substance abuse remains an important problem in the UK, especially in terms of causing premature death amongst young people. The Department of Health conducted a study in July 2011 and found that VSA continues to be the most commonly used drug among 11-12 year-olds and second only to cannabis by the age of 15.
Because volatile substances are easily available as household products, some people think they are safe to use, but they’re not. Between 2000 and 2008, volatile substance abuse killed more 10-15 year olds than all illegal drugs combined.
It is an offence in England and Wales to offer or supply volatile substances to someone under the age of 18, if they think they have reason to believe that the substance is likely to be inhaled for the purpose of intoxication under the Intoxicating Substances (Supply) Act 1985.
The charity Re-Solv campaigned successfully for the 1999 Amendment to Section 11(1) (b) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, making it illegal to sell butane gas lighter refills to anyone under the age of 18.
Abuse of solvents endangers life and brings great sadness and grief to the parents and families. Perhaps the death of Bethany Adcock and the loss of life of so many others may lead to a wider appreciation of the dangers of solvent abuse and, as a result, others may be dissuaded from risking their lives in this way. Education is the key to VSA prevention and we must give young people the information they need to make informed decisions about risk-taking behaviour such as solvent abuse.
Our predecessor printed magazine, “Recovery Rising”, covered this issue in its last edition in2011. We featured the work of the charity “Solve it” www.solveitonline.co.uk and called for all drug services to include a specific question about Gas, Glue and aerosols in all assessments. Work by Solve it and Young Addaction showed that VSA is massively underreported by clients presenting for help. We repeat that call again today.
You can see the whole article here: www.recoveryrising.co.uk/pdfs/recovery_rising6.pdf and scroll down to pages 24-25.