Inhalants are breathable chemicals that produce mind-altering vapors.
People do not think of inhalants as drugs because most of the products were never meant to be used that way. Nearly all inhalants produce effects similar to anesthetics, which act to slow down body functions, yet the user feels stimulated. There are about 1400 products potentially usable as inhalants. The substances in solvents can pass through the placental barrier and enter the fetal bloodstream. However, except for evidence of birth defects among petrol inhalers, the evidence that use of other inhalants or solvents can damage the fetus is inconclusive.