Inhalants - Treatment for Habitual Users
Treatment for Habitual Users
In 2004, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) conducted a study of parents' attitudes toward inhalant abuse. According to the results, parents are indeed aware that inhalants are more available to their children than are other drugs. However, parents are actually less likely to discuss inhalants with their children than they are to discuss cigarettes, marijuana, alcohol, or other drugs. PDFA researchers noted that adults "mistakenly … believe their children see as much risk in inhalant abuse as they do. Believing their children know the risks of inhalants removes the perceived need to educate them." In addition, the study found that "only four percent of parents of sixth to eighth graders believe their child has tried inhalants." In reality, young people are five times more likely to have tried inhalants than their parents are willing to believe.
Getting the Word Out about Inhalants
Compounding the problem, according to the MTF survey, is the number of young teens who fail to see the risk of using inhalants. The 2004 MTF results indicate that with each year since 2001, fewer and fewer teens have viewed inhalants as potentially deadly substances. As of 2005, the NIPC, with the support of the Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, was trying to change this trend by educating the public about the dangers of inhalants. Each year during the third week in March, the coalition sponsors National Inhalants and Poison Awareness Week (NIPAW).
Jail Time vs. Rehab
In the 1960s, inhalant-abusing youths were arrested rather than treated for their dependency. Relapse and treatment failure rates remain high among inhalant abusers. Some professionals believe that programs specific to inhalant abuse, perhaps led by recovering abusers, are critical to improving treatment success. But programs like this are scarce.
Even in 2005, there were few treatment centers for inhalant abusers in the United States. When asked for recommendations, Harvey Weiss, the executive director of the NIPC, could report on only four centers in the entire country specializing in rehabilitation for inhalers. The facilities he mentioned were Fairbanks Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana; Pathway Family Center, also in Indianapolis; Four Winds Hospitals in Ketonah, New York; and the Tundra Swan McCann Treatment Center in Bethel, Arkansas.
According to SAMHSA, nearly 200,000 Americans are in need of treatment for inhalant dependency or abuse. The majority of inhalant users seeking treatment are white males under twenty. More than half of the individuals admitted to treatment centers began using inhalants before the age of fourteen.
Brighter Future
Long-term treatment, as long as two years, has yielded the best results for inhalant abusers. This treatment includes identifying the underlying causes of drug use among addicts, teaching them better coping skills, and helping them to sever ties with their drug-abusing peers.
Many questions have been raised about the lasting effects of inhalant damage to the brain and other organs. New research shows reasons for optimism about recovery. In the NIDA Notes report, Robert Mathias quoted Dr. Neil Rosenberg of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver as saying, "Every day we learn more about the ability of the central nervous system to regenerate…. If you can stop the inhalant abuse, there's a good chance you can get significant recovery of function in chronic abusers." According to Dr. Rosenberg, the best method of treatment for inhalant abusers combines neurological rehabilitation with drug abuse treatment.
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