Epidemiology of Inhalant Abuse - Archives - National Institute on ...

nitrites—is virtually unknown in the country, and aerosols rarely are used
for psychoactive ends (Ferrando 1990).
From the late 1930s until the early 1980s inhalant consumption was <strong>of</strong>
little interest to Peruvians. In the first household survey in Lima
(Carbajal et al. 1980), use <strong>of</strong> inhalants was not even included in the
questionnaire. Huamán and colleagues (unpublished manuscript)
conducted the first study about inhalant use in Peru. The results from
data collected from different schools in Lima indicated that inhalants
were the third most used drug class after marijuana and coca paste.
However, it was not until the mid-1980s that more detailed information
on the use <strong>of</strong> inhalants became available. The findings from the 1986 and
1988 <strong>National</strong> Household Surveys, as shown in table 1, provided
extensive data on the use <strong>of</strong> inhalants in the general Peruvian population.
The results suggest that inhalant abuse in Peru is rather low. However,
the use is higher among youths ages 12 to 14, with 20 percent reporting
lifetime use <strong>of</strong> inhalants. Other results from the survey suggest the age <strong>of</strong>
initiation for inhalant abuse is the lowest <strong>of</strong> all psychoactive drugs
including alcohol and tobacco (see table 2). According to Ferrando
(1990), the difference in the lifetime prevalence from one survey to the
other could be due to a lack <strong>of</strong> comparability more than to a real change.
In any case, the numbers are rather modest. However, both surveys are
consistent in that current use <strong>of</strong> inhalants is more prevalent among
younger people. Twenty percent <strong>of</strong> those ages 12 to 14 who
acknowledged having ever used the substances are current users,
compared to 8 percent for other age categories. Both studies also clearly
show that inhalants have the lowest age <strong>of</strong> initiation <strong>of</strong> all drugs,
including alcohol and tobacco.
Other interesting findings from these two surveys suggest that the
percentage <strong>of</strong> those users who inhale frequently has grown. “Frequently”
was defined as use <strong>of</strong> inhalants between 10 and 99 times during a
person’s lifetime. In the general population, 2.6 percent to 15.4 percent
were frequent inhalant users, and 0.6 percent to 18.2 percent <strong>of</strong> those 12
to 19 years old were defined as frequent users. This increase particularly
is evident for subjects aged 12 to 19, a group that shows a higher rate <strong>of</strong>
use than the other age cohorts (see table 3).
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