Inhalants are a wide variety of substances having to due with nitrites, solvents, aerosols and gases that are breathed through the mouth or nose. Many products are found at home or work places, such as cleaning fluids, spray paints, sharpies, etc. Anything with harsh chemicals. They can be art or office supplies. People do not always think of these materials/products to be considered as drugs, but a good majority of people can abuse them in that way.
Inhalants are the only class of substance to be abused the most by younger children than by older teens. They can be inhaled by sniffing, snorting, or placing a chemical-soaked rag, to get the fumes directly into their nose or mouth. They can also be inhaled from plastic or paper bags, as well as balloons.
Abusers will often continue to inhale the products over several hours, seeing that the “high” does not last but a few minutes. The way inhalants affect the brain is not to different from alcohol effects; slurred speech, dizziness, lack of coordination, light headedness, …show more content…
Abusers from age 16 to 17 commonly use nitrous oxide, while ma- jority of adults abuse nitrites (poppers). Nitrites are known to be a special class of inhalants that are abused to enhance sexual pleasure and/or performance. This can associate with unsafe sexual practices that can increase the risk of spreading and contracting infectious diseases like AIDS/HIVS or hepatitis.
Some other health effects of Inhalants can be caused by the chemicals found in the different types of products; they can produce a variety of short-term or long-term effects. Short-term being, nausea or vomiting, long-term being more serious like liver/kidney damage, bone marrow damage or hearing loss. Inhalants can also cause severe brain damage by cutting off the oxygen flow to the