WASHINGTON, March 11 (UPI) -- More 12-year-olds use inhalants than they do marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogens combined, U.S. data released Thursday indicated.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report indicated young people sniffed products such as refrigerant from air-conditioning units, aerosol computer cleaners, shoe polish, glue, air fresheners, hair sprays, nail polish, paint solvents, degreasers, gasoline or lighter fluids, the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition said in a release.
Data from the 2006-2008 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health indicated a rate of lifetime inhalant use among 12-year-olds of 6.9 percent, compared with a rate of 5.1 percent for non-medical use of prescription drugs; 1.4 percent for marijuana; 0.7 percent for hallucinogens; and 0.1 percent for cocaine.
"We continue to face the challenge of increasing experimentation and intentional misuse of common household products among the youngest and most vulnerable segments of our population -- 12-year-olds," NIPC Executive Director Harvey Weiss said. "The data are ominous and their implications are frightening because of the toxic, chemical effects of these legal products on growing minds and bodies."
Young people and their parents are the primary audiences for information about the dangers associated with inhalant abuse, said Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the Obama administration.
"With data showing that young people often don't perceive the great risk of abusing inhalants," Kerlikowske said, "we must redouble our efforts to inform adolescents of the dangers and to encourage parents to be more vigilant in protecting their children from inhalants often present in common household products."
