NCJ Number
204894
Date Published
March 2004
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This report presents findings on inhalant use among youths obtained by the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which asked respondents aged 12 or older to report on their use of inhalants or other illicit drugs during the past year and in their lifetime.
Abstract
The survey defined inhalants as "liquids, sprays, and gases that people sniff or inhale to get high or to make them feel good." The categories of inhalants specifically included in the survey were amyl nitrite, "poppers," locker-room odorizers, or "rush;" correction fluid, degreaser, or cleaning fluid; gasoline or lighter fluid; glue, shoe polish, or toluene; halothane, ether, or other anesthetics; lacquer thinner or other paint solvents; lighter gases; nitrous oxide or "whippets;" spray paints; and other aerosol sprays. In 2002, according to the NSDUH, more than 2.6 million youths aged 12 to 17 had used some inhalant at least once in their lifetime. The rate of past year inhalant use was about the same for boys (4.6 percent) and girls (4.1 percent). Youths who had used an inhalant in the past year were more likely to use marijuana, hallucinogens, cocaine, and prescription drugs nonmedically than those who had not used inhalants in the past year. 4 figures