Teen “huffing”

Common household products such as nail-polish remover, paint thinners, cooking sprays and air fresheners may threaten your children's lives if they choose to sniff (or “huff”) them to get high.

An estimated 4.7 million teens have used inhalants, notes a report in the February issue of Family Circle, and they are most popular among 7th and 8th graders. The inhalants cause a quick euphoria that's “like falling-down drunk almost instantly,” says Robert Balster, director of the Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Repeated abuse of such products can permanently impair coordination and memory, adds Alvin C. Bronstein, medical director of the Rocky Mountain Poison Center in Denver. At its worst, it can result in sudden sniffing-death syndrome, where the inhaled chemicals cause the heart to beat erratically and then stop.

Parents should watch for these warning signs of inhalant abuse:
- Products in odd places, such as nail polish in your son's room.
- Odd-smelling breath.

Empty product containers stashed in the closet or under a bed.
- Glassy eyes, slurred speech, a dazed look or clumsiness.
- Paint smudges on the lips, face or fingers.
- Anxiety or restlessness.

Chicago Tribune February 11, 2007