Inhalants are deadly.
Use of inhalants has nearly doubled in the past decade nationally. For three years, Murkowski has been a leader in the Senate in promoting awareness of inhalant abuse. According to the Alaska Native Health Consortium, inhaling has a higher risk of instant death than any other abused substance. Surveys also show that inhalants serve as a gateway drug often leading to other illicit drug abuse. Because these products are legal, affordable and their abuse is hard to detect, awareness must be promoted among young people, parents and educators.