Inhalants - What Is It Made Of?

What Is It Made Of?

Inhalants come in many forms. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), there are four general categories of inhalants: volatile solvents, aerosols, gases, and nitrites.

Volatile Solvents

Volatile solvents are liquids that vaporize at room temperature. Products containing volatile solvents are widely available for household and industrial use. Some examples include paint thinner and remover, nail polish remover, gasoline, model airplane glue, correction fluid, and felt-tip marker fluid.

Aerosols

Aerosols are sprays that contain propellants and solvents. Bathroom cleaners, air fresheners, and bug-killing sprays found in any supermarket are just a few examples of easily obtainable aerosol spray products. Consumers can tell an aerosol spray from a pump spray in two main ways. First, aerosol cans are usually made of metal, while pump sprays are made of plastic. Second, an aerosol spray delivers its product in a fine and continuous mist. The mist is released from the can as long as the user presses down on the spray button. Pump sprays deliver short, premeasured bursts of a liquid. The button must be "pumped," or pushed down, for each spray. Spray paints, hair sprays, computer air dusters, body deodorants, and nonstick cooking sprays were among the most commonly used aerosol inhalants in early 2005.

Gases

Gases fall into two categories: 1) medical anesthetics such as ether, chloroform, and nitrous oxide (N2O), or "laughing gas"; and 2) fuel gases found in products such as butane lighters, propane tanks, and air conditioners.

Nitrous oxide, though usually associated with dentistry, was actually the most frequently abused gas in the early 2000s. It is purchased at dance clubs in balloons or ready-to-use canisters. Another well-known source of nitrous oxide is canned whipped cream. (Whipping cream cartridges, nicknamed "whippets," also contain nitrous oxide.) Whipped cream is usually dispensed from its container by turning the can upside down and depressing the lever. Nitrous oxide is the substance used to force the whipped cream out of the can. Abusers breathe in the nitrous oxide propellant without dispensing any cream.

Nitrites

A nitrite is a chemical compound that contains one nitrogen atom joined to two oxygen atoms. (A separate entry on nitrites, listed under the title "Amyl nitrite," is available in this encyclopedia.) Nitrites are stimulantsA substance that increases the activity of a living organism or one of its parts., not depressantsSubstances that slow down the activity of an organism or one of its parts., and work differently on the body systems than other inhalants. Most abusers are drawn to inhalants for their psychoactive effects. Users of nitrites are the exception. Inhaled nitrites dilate, or open up, blood vessels, increase the heart rate, and create a brief but powerful sense of warmth and sexual excitement in the user.

Shaggy Takes a Hit

Abusing nitrous oxide from whipped cream cans made its way into at least one kid-friendly movie in the early twenty-first century. The Warner Bros. movie Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004) received a PG rating for language, rude humor, and its potential to scare younger kids. But no reference was made to "drug use" in the movie. Still, the picture contains a scene that clearly shows the character Shaggy inhaling nitrous oxide from a whipped cream can while Scooby watches. Shaggy then jokes about the experience and acts giddy and intoxicated.

Parents of children who have died from inhalant abuse were outraged by the scene in the film. Many contacted the National Inhalation Prevention Coalition (NIPC), which published the parents' complaints on the group's Web site. One parent who lost a child to inhalant abuse wrote that the scene was "so outrageous it leaves me speechless." Various groups urged Warner Bros. to drop the scene from the DVD and video versions of the movie.

Amyl nitrite was especially popular among gay men in the 1970s. The drug was intended for use by heart patients suffering from severe chest pain. Amyl nitrite ampules (small, sealed vials) earned the nickname "poppers" among drug users on the dance party circuit because they had to be crushed, or "popped," to release their chemical vapors. In 1979, amyl nitrite became available by prescription only in the United States. Two closely related chemical compounds—butyl nitrite and isobutyl nitrite—quickly took its place. These substances also contain a single nitrogen atom attached to two oxygen atoms and are generally sold as room odorizers. They are packaged in small, dark-colored glass bottles and sniffed in concentrated form. Nitrite-based inhalants produce an almost instant high that lasts for two to five minutes.