A 13-year old Vancouver teen died after inhaling air freshener out of an aerosol can. Inhalants are the third most widely abused drug. Only tobacco and alcohol are more popular among drug-using youngsters. Every time kids use inhalants, they are playing Russian roulette. These chemicals enter the body quickly, either sniffed through the nasal passages or huffed through the mouth, and can linger in the brain, lungs, and circulatory system longer than alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana.
Inhalants are a bigger threat than other gateway drugs.
With inhalants, youngsters have a smorgasbord of easily available choices, plenty of places to take quick whiffs, and most inhalants do not cost them a dime. Over a thousand people die every year from sniffing or huffing. Because the chemicals in inhalants flood into the lungs in such high concentration, they can have a more toxic impact than any other abused drug. It is difficult to make a child understand that. The harmful effects of crack cocaine and heroin are well publicized and children know that they are illegal and costly, so they may think twice about using them.