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Inhalants are a diverse group of volatile

substances whose chemical vapors can

be inhaled to produce psychoactive

(mind-altering) effects. While other

abused substances can be inhaled, the

term “inhalants” is used to describe substances that are rarely, if ever, taken by

any other route of administration. A variety of products common in the home

and workplace contain substances that

can be inhaled to get high; however,

people do not typically think of these

products (e.g., spray paints, glues, and

cleaning fluids) as drugs because they

were never intended to induce intoxicating effects. Yet young children and adolescents can easily obtain these extremely toxic substances, and are among

those most likely to abuse them. In fact,

more 8th graders have tried inhalants

than any other illicit drug.1

What Types of Products are

Abused as Inhalants?

Inhalants generally fall into the following

categories:

Volatile solvents—liquids that vaporize

at room temperature 

• Industrial or household products,

including paint thinners or removers,

degreasers, dry-cleaning fluids, gasoline, lighter fluid 

• Art or office supply solvents,

including correction fluids, felt-tip

marker fluid, electronic contact cleaners, glue 

Aerosols—sprays that contain propellants and solvents

• Household aerosol propellants in

items such as spray paints, hair or

deodorant sprays, fabric protector

sprays, aerosol computer cleaning

products, and vegetable oil sprays

Gases—found in household or 

commercial products and used as 

medical anesthetics

• Household or commercial products,

including butane lighters and

propane tanks, whipped cream

aerosols or dispensers (whippets),

and refrigerant gases 

• Medical anesthetics, such as ether,

chloroform, halothane, and nitrous

oxide (“laughing gas”) 

Nitrites—a special class of inhalants

that are used primarily as sexual

enhancers

• Organic nitrites are volatiles that

include cyclohexyl, butyl, and amyl

nitrites, commonly known as “poppers.” Amyl nitrite is still used in certain diagnostic medical procedures.

Inhalants
June 2008 Page 2 of 5

When marketed for illicit use, they

are often sold in small brown bottles

labeled as “video head cleaner,”

“room odorizer,” “leather cleaner,”

or “liquid aroma.”

These various products contain a wide

range of chemicals such as:

• toluene (spray paints, rubber cement,

gasoline), 

• chlorinated hydrocarbons (dry cleaning chemicals, correction fluids), 

• hexane (glues, gasoline), 

• benzene (gasoline), 

• methylene chloride (varnish

removers, paint thinners),

• butane (cigarette lighter refills, air

fresheners), and

• nitrous oxide (whipped cream dispensers, gas cylinders).

Adolescents tend to abuse different 

products at different ages.2 Among new

users aged 12–15, the most commonly

abused inhalants were glue, shoe polish,

spray paints, gasoline, and lighter fluid.

Among new users aged 16 or 17, the

most commonly abused products were

nitrous oxide or whippets. Nitrites are

the class of inhalants most commonly

abused by adults.3

How are Inhalants Abused?

Inhalants can be breathed in through the

nose or mouth in a variety of ways, such

as sniffing or snorting fumes from a container, spraying aerosols directly into the

nose or mouth, or placing an inhalantsoaked rag in the mouth (“huffing”).

Users may also inhale fumes from a 

balloon or a plastic or paper bag that

contains an inhalant.

The intoxication produced by inhalants

usually lasts just a few minutes; therefore, users often try to extend the “high”

by continuing to inhale repeatedly over

several hours. 

How Do Inhalants Affect the

Brain? 

The effects of inhalants are similar to

those of alcohol, including slurred

speech, lack of coordination, euphoria,

and dizziness. Inhalant abusers may also

experience lightheadedness, hallucinations, and delusions. With repeated

inhalations, many users feel less inhibited

and less in control. Some may feel

drowsy for several hours and experience

a lingering headache. Chemicals found

in different types of inhaled products may

produce a variety of additional effects,

such as confusion, nausea, or vomiting.

By displacing air in the lungs, inhalants

deprive the body of oxygen, a condition

known as hypoxia. Hypoxia can damage cells throughout the body, but the

cells of the brain are especially sensitive

to it. The symptoms of brain hypoxia

vary according to which regions of the

brain are affected: the hippocampus, for

example, helps control memory, so

someone who repeatedly uses inhalants

may lose the ability to learn new things

or may have a hard time carrying on

simple conversations. 
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Long-term inhalant abuse can also 

break down myelin, a fatty tissue that

surrounds and protects some nerve

fibers. Myelin helps nerve fibers carry

their messages quickly and efficiently,

and when damaged can lead to muscle

spasms and tremors or even permanent

difficulty with basic actions like walking,

bending, and talking. 

Although not very common, addiction 

to inhalants can occur with repeated

abuse. According to the 2006 Treatment

Episode Dataset, inhalants were reported as the primary substance abused by

less than 0.1 percent of all individuals

admitted to substance abuse treatment.4

However, of those individuals who

reported inhalants as their primary, secondary, or tertiary drug of abuse, nearly

half were adolescents aged 12 to 17.

This age group represents only 8 percent of total admissions to treatment. 

What Other Adverse Effects

Do Inhalants Have on

Health? 

Lethal effects:

Sniffing highly concentrated amounts of

the chemicals in solvents or aerosol

sprays can directly induce heart failure

and death within minutes of a session of

repeated inhalations. This syndrome,

known as “sudden sniffing death,” can

result from a single session of inhalant

use by an otherwise healthy young person. Sudden sniffing death is particularly

associated with the abuse of butane,

propane, and chemicals in aerosols. 

High concentrations of inhalants may

also cause death from suffocation by displacing oxygen in the lungs, causing the

user to lose consciousness and stop

breathing. Deliberately inhaling from a

paper or plastic bag or in a closed area

greatly increases the chances of suffocation. Even when using aerosols or

volatile products for their legitimate 

purposes (i.e., painting, cleaning), it is

wise to do so in a well-ventilated room

or outdoors. 

Harmful irreversible effects:

• Hearing loss—spray paints, glues,

dewaxers, dry-cleaning chemicals,

correction fluids 

• Peripheral neuropathies or limb

spasms—glues, gasoline, whipped

cream dispensers, gas cylinders

• Central nervous system or brain damage—spray paints, glues, dewaxers

• Bone marrow damage—gasoline

Serious but potentially reversible

effects:

• Liver and kidney damage—correction fluids, dry-cleaning fluids 

• Blood oxygen depletion—varnish

removers, paint thinners

HIV/AIDS:

Because nitrites are abused to enhance

sexual pleasure and performance, they

can be associated with unsafe sexual

practices that greatly increase the risk 

of contracting and spreading infectious

diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. 
June 2008 Page 4 of 5

How Widespread is Inhalant

Abuse?

Monitoring the Future†

According to the Monitoring the Future

survey, more 8th graders (15.6 percent)

have tried inhalants in their lifetime than

any other illicit drug, including marijuana. Lifetime use (use at least once during a respondent’s lifetime) of inhalants

was reported by 15.6 percent of 8th

graders, 13.6 percent of 10th graders,

and 10.5 percent of 12th graders in

2007; 3.9 percent of 8th graders, 2.5

percent of 10th graders, and 1.2 percent of 12th graders were current users

of inhalants (had used at least once during the 30 days preceding response to

the survey).

National Survey on Drug Use 

and Health††

Data from the National Survey on Drug

Use and Health show that the primary

abusers of most inhalants are adolescents ages 12 to 17. In 2006, 4.4 percent of adolescents reported using

inhalants in the past year. Among young

adults aged 18 to 25, past-year use of

inhalants decreased from 2.1 percent in

2005 to 1.8 percent in 2006. Of the

783,000 persons aged 12 or older who

tried inhalants for the first time within the

previous year, 77.2 percent were under

age 18 when they first used. 

Other Information Sources

For additional information on inhalants,

please refer to NIDA’s inhalant-specific

website: www.inhalants.drugabuse.

gov/

For a list of street terms used to refer 

to inhalants and other drugs, visit

www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/

streetterms/default.asp.

Data Sources

† These data are from the 2007 Monitoring the Future survey, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse,

National Institutes of Health, DHHS, and conducted annually by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social

Research. The survey has tracked 12th graders’ illicit drug use and related attitudes since 1975; in 1991, 8th and

10th graders were added to the study. The latest data are online at www.drugabuse.gov.

†† NSDUH (formerly known as the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) is an annual survey of Americans age

12 and older conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Copies of the latest survey are available at www.samhsa.gov and from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at

800-729-6686.
June 2008 Page 5 of 5

National Institutes of Health – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

This material may be used or reproduced without permission from NIDA. Citation of the source is appreciated.

References

1 Johnston LD, O'Malley PM, Bachman JG, Schulenberg JE. Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use,

1975-2006. Volume I: Secondary school students (NIH Publication No. 07-6205). Bethesda, MD: National Institute

on Drug Abuse. 2007. 

2 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. The NSDUH Report:

Inhalant Use Across the Adolescent Years. Available at: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/inhalants/inhalants.cfm.

Accessed April 22, 2008.

3 Wu LT, Schlenger WE, Ringwalt CL. Use of nitrite inhalants (“poppers”) among American youth. J Adolesc Health

37:52–60, 2005.

4 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. Treatment Episode Data Set

(TEDS.) Highlights - 2006. National Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment Services, DASIS Series S-40, DHHS

Publication No. (SMA) 08-4313, Rockville, MD, 2008.

5 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (March 13, 2008). The

DASIS Report: Adolescent Admissions Reporting Inhalants: 2006. Available at: http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k8/

inhalantsTX/inhalantsTX.htm. Accessed April 22, 2008.