Twenty-one percent of youth have at least tried household products once in their lifetime to get high, according to the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, 2000. Data from national and State surveys suggest inhalant abuse reaches its peak at some point during the seventh through ninth grades. For example, the American Drug and Alcohol Survey of children in the 4th through 12th grades indicates that the percentage of children who have ever used inhalants peaks in the 8th grade. Inhalants are being abused at higher rates than they were a decade ago. For the most part, children need not spend any money or leave their home in order to obtain inhalants.
Inhalants are easy to find as well as relatively easy to use and conceal.
In fact, inhalants are being used way before the onset of tobacco or alcohol use. Nearly all abused products produce effects similar to anesthetics, which slow down the body's function. Varying upon level of dosage, the user can experience slight stimulation, feeling of less inhibition or loss of consciousness. The user can also suffer from Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. This means the user can die the 1st, 10th or 100th time he or she uses an inhalant.