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

<strong>Inhalant</strong> Use Among Brazilian
Youths
Beatriz Carlini-Cotrim
In Brazil, inhalant abuse is an old phenomenon. As early as the 1920s a
series <strong>of</strong> local medical articles focused on the so-called ether-inhaling
vice, in which ether or the volatile product found in a common device
called lança-perfume (meaning “perfume-thrower”) was inhaled by young
people in Brazilian cities (Lopes 1924, 1925). This device, a small metal
container filled with ethyl chloride, usually was commercialized during
Carnival, the 4-day festival that has become famous internationally. The
original purpose <strong>of</strong> lança-perfume, as its name indicates, was to be used
as a prank, in order to throw ice-cold jets <strong>of</strong> fragrance on people during
the festivities. As such, it was bought and sold without any restrictions
for many decades.
It appears that ether and ethyl chloride in the form <strong>of</strong> lança-perfume
continued to be the major inhalant products to be abused in Brazil up to
the 1960s (Neves-Manta 1956; Parreiras 1965). At that time, the
production and commercialization <strong>of</strong> lança-perfume became illegal. This
was the work <strong>of</strong> President Jânio Quadros. Although he resigned after
only 8 months in <strong>of</strong>fice, the prohibition he issued endures to this day—as
does the illegal consumption <strong>of</strong> lança-perfume. It now must enter the
country illegally by way <strong>of</strong> Uruguay or Paraguay; alternatively, it is sold
in a homemade version called loló.
Reports concerning other kinds <strong>of</strong> inhalant abuse began to appear in
major Brazilian newspapers in the early 1980s. In most cases, they
involved the use <strong>of</strong> glues or thinners (Carlini-Cotrim 1992). Typically,
the abuse was reported among young lower income subjects living in
large urban areas. Although such indications would necessitate scientific
investigation <strong>of</strong> the subject, Brazilian epidemiological research on
inhalant abuse is relatively limited. The research that is available is
centered on the study <strong>of</strong> two population groups: young students and
street children.
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