Inhalant: Difference between revisions

In the United Kingdom, poppers are widely available and frequently (legally) sold in [[Gay bar|gay clubs/bars]], [[sex shops]], drug paraphernalia [[head shops]], over the Internet and on markets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/switch/surgery/advice/drink_drugs/poppers/ |title=Advice – Poppers |publisher=BBC |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=26 July 2012}}</ref> It is illegal under [[Medicines Act 1968]] to sell them advertised for human consumption, and to bypass this, they are usually sold as odorizers. In the U.S., originally marketed as a prescription drug in 1937, amyl nitrite remained so until 1960, when the [[Food and Drug Administration]] removed the prescription requirement due to its safety record. This requirement was reinstated in 1969, after observation of an increase in recreational use. Other alkyl nitrites were outlawed in the U.S. by Congress through the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. The law includes an exception for commercial purposes. The term ''commercial purpose'' is defined to mean any use other than for the production of consumer products containing volatile alkyl nitrites meant for inhaling or otherwise introducing volatile alkyl nitrites into the human body for euphoric or physical effects.<ref>Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Public Law 1QO-690, section 2404) (15 U.S.C. 2d57a(e)(2)).</ref> The law came into effect in 1990. Visits to retail outlets selling these products reveal that some manufacturers have since reformulated their products to abide by the regulations, through the use of the legal [[cyclohexyl nitrite]] as the primary ingredient in their products, which are sold as video head cleaners, polish removers, or room odorants.

Organochlorine solvents are particularly hazardous; many of these are now restricted in developed countries due to their environmental impact.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jayaraj |first=Ravindran |last2=Megha |first2=Pankajshan |last3=Sreedev |first3=Puthur |date=2016-12-01 |title=Review Article. Organochlorine pesticides, their toxic effects on living organisms and their fate in the environment |url=https://www.sciendo.com/article/10.1515/intox-2016-0012 |journal=Interdisciplinary Toxicology |language=en |volume=9 |issue=3-4 |pages=90–100 |doi=10.1515/intox-2016-0012 |issn=1337-9569 |pmc=5464684 |pmid=28652852}}</ref>

 

Inhaling [[butane]] gas can cause drowsiness, [[unconsciousness]], [[asphyxia]], and cardiac arrhythmia.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK201460/|chapter=1, Butane: Acute Exposure Guideline Levels|vauthors=((Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels)), ((Committee on Toxicology)), ((Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology)), ((Division on Earth and Life Studies)), ((National Research Council))|title=Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 12|date=27 April 2012|access-date=1 February 2017|location=Washington (DC)|publisher=National Academies Press (US)}}</ref> Butane is the most commonly misused volatile solvent in the UK and caused 52% of solvent-related deaths in 2000. When butane is sprayed directly into the throat, the jet of fluid can cool rapidly to −20&nbsp;°C by [[adiabatic expansion]], causing prolonged [[laryngospasm]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ramsey|first1=J.|last2=Anderson|first2=H. R.|last3=Bloor|first3=K.|last4=Flanagan|first4=R. J.|date=July 1989|title=An introduction to the practice, prevalence and chemical toxicology of volatile substance abuse|journal=Human Toxicology|volume=8|issue=4|pages=261–269|issn=0144-5952|pmid=2777265|doi=10.1177/096032718900800403|s2cid=19617950}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Harris|first1=D.|last2=Mirza|first2=Z.|date=1 September 2005|title=Butane encephalopathy|url= |journal=Emergency Medicine Journal|volume=22|issue=9|pages=676–677|doi=10.1136/emj.2003.014134|issn=1472-0205|pmid=16113204|pmc=1726908}}</ref>

Some inhalants can also indirectly cause sudden death by cardiac arrest, in a syndrome known as "sudden sniffing death".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,588903,00.html | publisher=Fox News Channel | title='Huffing' More Popular Among 12 Year Olds Than Street Drugs | date=11 March 2010}}</ref> The anaesthetic gases present in the inhalants appear to sensitize the user to adrenaline and, in this state, a sudden surge of adrenaline (e.g., from a frightening hallucination or run-in with aggressors), may cause fatal [[cardiac arrhythmia]].<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=2777268 |year=1989 |last1=Shepherd |first1=RT |title=Mechanism of sudden death associated with volatile substance abuse |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=287–91 |journal=Human Toxicology |doi=10.1177/096032718900800406|s2cid=35683481 }}</ref>

Glue and gasoline (petrol) sniffing is also a problem in parts of Africa, especially with street children. In India and South Asia, three of the most widely used inhalants are the [[Dendrite (adhesive)|Dendrite]] brand and other forms of contact adhesives and rubber cement manufactured in [[Kolkata]], and [[toluene]]s in [[paint thinner]]s. Genkem is a brand of glue, which had become the generic name for all the glues used by glue-sniffing children in Africa before the manufacturer replaced [[n-hexane]] in its ingredients in 2000.<ref name="cassere2010">Cassere, Di (14 November 2000). [http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/glue-loses-high-to-save-street-kid-addicts-1.53018 Glue loses high to save street-kid addicts.] ''The Independent'' (South Africa)</ref>

 

The [[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]] has reported that glue sniffing is at the core of "street culture" in [[Nairobi]], [[Kenya]], and that the majority of [[street children]] in the city are habitual solvent users.<ref name=Cottrell-Boyce>{{cite journal|last=Cottrell-Boyce|first=Joe|journal=African Journal of Drug & Alcohol Studies|year=2010|volume=9|issue=2|pages=93–102|url=https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajdas/article/view/64142/51938|access-date=2 December 2022|doi=10.4314/ajdas.v9i2.64142|title=The role of solvents in the lives of Kenyan street children: An ethnographic perspective|doi-access=free}}</ref> Research conducted by Cottrell-Boyce for the African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies found that glue sniffing amongst Kenyan street children was primarily functional – dulling the senses against the hardship of life on the street – but it also provided a link to the support structure of the "street family" as a potent symbol of shared experience.<ref name=Cottrell-Boyce />

Ethanol is also inhaled, either by vaporizing it by pouring it over [[dry ice]] in a narrow container and inhaling with a straw or by pouring alcohol in a corked bottle with a pipe, and then using a bicycle pump to make a [[spray (liquid drop)|spray]]. Alcohol can be vaporized using a simple container and open-flame heater.<ref name=forbes>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertglatter/2013/06/21/the-dangers-of-smoking-alcohol/|title=The Dangers Of "Smoking" Alcohol|last=Glatter|first=Robert|date=21 June 2013|work=Forbes|access-date=23 January 2014}}</ref> Medical devices such as asthma nebulizers and inhalers were also reported as a means of application. The practice gained popularity in 2004, with the marketing of the device dubbed AWOL (Alcohol without liquid), a play on the military term [[AWOL]] (Absent Without Leave).<ref name=slate/> AWOL, created by British businessman Dominic Simler,<ref name=slate/> was first introduced in Asia and Europe, and then in the United States in August 2004. AWOL was used by nightclubs, at gatherings and parties, and it garnered attraction as a [[novelty]], as people 'enjoyed passing it around in a group'.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/3493487.stm |title=Inhaling alcohol may 'harm brain' |publisher=BBC |date= 16 February 2004}}</ref> AWOL uses a [[nebulizer]], a machine that agitates the liquid into an [[aerosol]]. AWOL's official website states that "AWOL and AWOL 1 are powered by ''Electrical Air Compressors'' while AWOL 2 and AWOL 3 are powered by ''electrical oxygen generators''",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.awolspirit.com/purchasing.htm |title=AWOL Official page: AIR POWERED AWOL MACHINES |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202111418/http://www.awolspirit.com/purchasing.htm |archive-date=2 February 2014  }}</ref> which refer to a couple of mechanisms used by the nebulizer drug delivery device for inhalation. Although the AWOL machine is marketed as having no downsides, such as the lack of calories or hangovers, Amanda Shaffer of ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'' describes these claims as "dubious at best".<ref name=slate/> Although inhaled alcohol does reduce the caloric content, the savings are minimal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2013/06/smoking_alcohol_can_you_inhale_calories.html|title=Can You Inhale Calories?|last=Palmer|first=Brian|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=18 June 2013|access-date=23 January 2014}}</ref> After expressed safety and health concerns, sale or use of AWOL machines was [[#Regulation|banned]] in a number of American states.<ref name="nytimes2006"/>

Inhalants are referred to by bands from other genres, including several [[grunge]] bands—an early 1990s genre that was influenced by punk rock. The 1990s [[grunge]] band [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], which was influenced by punk music, penned a song, "[[Dumb (Nirvana song)|Dumb]]", in which [[Kurt Cobain]] sings "my heart is broke / But I have some glue / help me inhale / And mend it with you". [[L7 (band)|L7]], an all-female grunge band, penned a song titled "Scrap" about a skinhead who inhales spray-paint fumes until his mind "starts to gel". Also in the 1990s, the [[Britpop]] band [[Suede (band)|Suede]] had a UK hit with their song "[[Animal Nitrate]]" whose title is a thinly veiled reference to [[amyl nitrite]]. The [[Beck]] song "Fume" from his "Fresh Meat and Old Slabs" release is about inhaling [[nitrous oxide]]. Another Beck song, "Cold Ass Fashion", contains the line "O.G. – Original Gluesniffer!" [[Primus (band)|Primus]]'s 1999 song "[[Lacquer Head]]" is about adolescents who use inhalants to get high. [[Hip hop]] performer [[Eminem]] wrote a song, "Bad Meets Evil", which refers to breathing "... ether in three lethal amounts." The Brian Jonestown Massacre, a retro-rock band from the 1990s, has a song, "Hyperventilation", which is about sniffing model-airplane cement. Frank Zappa's song "Teenage Wind" from 1981 has a reference to glue sniffing: "Nothing left to do but get out the 'ol glue; Parents, parents; Sniff it good now..."

A number of films have depicted or referred to the use of solvent inhalants. In the 1968 film ''[[How Sweet It Is!]]'', Grif Henderson ([[James Garner]]), refers to him and his young son once making model aeroplanes together, but says, "...now all he wants to do is sniff the glue". The 1980 comedy film ''[[Airplane!]]'', the character of McCroskey ([[Lloyd Bridges]]) refers to his inhalant use when he states, "I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue." In the 1996 film ''[[Citizen Ruth]]'', the character Ruth ([[Laura Dern]]), a homeless drifter, is depicted inhaling [[patio sealant]] from a paper bag in an alleyway. In the tragicomedy ''[[Love Liza]]'', the main character, played by [[Philip Seymour Hoffman]], plays a man who takes up building remote-controlled airplanes as a hobby to give him an excuse to sniff the fuel in the wake of his wife's suicide.

In the [[David Lynch]] film ''[[Blue Velvet (film)|Blue Velvet]]'', the bizarre and manipulative character played by [[Dennis Hopper]] uses a mask to inhale amyl nitrite.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Becoming film literate : the art and craft of motion pictures|last=LoBrutto, Vincent|date=2005|publisher=Praeger|isbn=0-313-08868-3|location=Westport, Connecticut|oclc=191734019}}</ref> In ''[[Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)|Little Shop of Horrors]]'', [[Steve Martin]]'s character dies from nitrous oxide inhalation. The 1999 independent film ''[[Boys Don't Cry (1999 film)|Boys Don't Cry]]'' depicts two young low-income women inhaling [[aerosol computer cleaner]] (compressed gas) for a buzz. In ''[[The Cider House Rules (film)|The Cider House Rules]]'', [[Michael Caine]]'s character is addicted to inhaling ether vapors.

In the comedy series ''[[Newman and Baddiel in Pieces]]'', Rob Newman's inhaling gas from a foghorn was a running joke in the series. One episode of the ''[[Jeremy Kyle Show]]'' featured a woman with a 20-year butane gas addiction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0sVEJxVQ5Y| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/n0sVEJxVQ5Y| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|title=A Mum Hooked On Butane Gas (PART 1)| date=18 May 2010|via=YouTube|access-date=19 July 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In the series ''[[It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia]]'', [[Charlie Kelly (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia)|Charlie Kelly]] has an addiction to huffing glue. Additionally, season nine episode 8 shows Dennis, Mac, and Dee getting a can of gasoline to use as a solvent, but instead end up taking turns huffing from the canister.