Review of Inhalants - ARCHIVES - National Institute on Drug Abuse

SUMMARY
Inhalant abuse, a youthful substance abuse problem <strong>of</strong> the past
quarter century, is difficult for many adults to understand.
When perceived from the perspective <strong>of</strong> the youth who tends to
mimic the behavior <strong>of</strong> his peers, it becomes more comprehensible.
The solvents are among the most available, inexpensive, and
convenient <strong>of</strong> the intoxicants. They are effective in producing
the desired state <strong>of</strong> transforming or obliterating sober consciousness.
The fact that their dangers are either hardly studied or
actually known to be serious, deters few consumers who indulge,
because they seem to be more here and now, rather than future,
oriented.
The person who experiments once or twice with some industrial
solvent may simply be manifesting the natural curiosity or the
mimicking behavior <strong>of</strong> the young. No particular treatment is
needed for such individuals. It is the consistent consumer who is
liable to the possible illnesses, injuries, and even fatalities associated
with inhaling these unusual intoxicants. The unknown
composition and the multiplicity <strong>of</strong> the products used make treatment
difficult when such people appear at a medical installation.
The management <strong>of</strong> the psychic and somatic disabilities is complicated,
and rehabilitation is difficult to predict. It is in preventive
measures that the greatest hope <strong>of</strong> making a real impact on
the problem exists. Future strategies should focus on early,
primary preventive efforts. However, it is acknowledged that
these are the most difficult and challenging to achieve.
REFERENCES
Berry, G., et al. Neuropsychological assessment <strong>of</strong> chronic
inhalant abusers: A preliminary report. Presented at the First
International Symposium on Voluntary Inhalation <strong>of</strong> Industrial
Solvents, Mexico City, 1976.
Boecks, R., and F. Coodin. An epidemic <strong>of</strong> gasoline sniffing.
Presented at the First International Symposium on the Deliberate
Inhalation <strong>of</strong> Industrial Solvents, Mexico City, 1976.
Clinger, O., and N. Johnson. Purposeful inhalation <strong>of</strong> gasoline
vapors. Psychoanal Q, 25:557, 1951.
Cohen, S. The beyond within: The LSD story. New York:
Atheneum, 1967.
Cohen, S. Why solvents? Presented at the First International
Symposium on the Deliberate Inhalation <strong>of</strong> Industrial Solvents,
Mexico City, 1976.
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