Sniffing or inhaling them from a cloth saturated with the chemical. Inhaling the aerosol. Inhalants are abused because they can provide a quick high. Kids are likely to abuse them because they are readily available and inexpensive. Kids may also be influenced by peer pressure and may have low self-esteem.
Children often start sniffing in grade school.
They may think these substances cannot hurt them. Once kids start sniffing, they find it hard to stop. They are also likely to try inhalants before using cigarettes or alcohol, and they are likely to experiment with other drugs. In fact, parents often have no idea that their children are abusing inhalants. Even doctors may not know much about inhalant abuse or forget to ask about it when asking kids about drugs.