From: [b--r--e] at [rcf.rsmas.miami.edu] (Charlie Byrne)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Subject: Re: Inhalants: USA Today article
Date: 9 Sep 1993 11:17:32 GMT

Found the "Inhalants" articles in Sept 7, 1993 USA Today. 
Edited Lowlights, my comments in (parens):
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Newest Target in the Drug Wars: Inhalants
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- The epidemic experts say the drug war has long ignored.
- About 17% of US teens have tried to get high by sniffing products ranging from
  aerosol deodorant to gasoline.
- Look for blitzes from Entertainment Industry Council, National Inhalant
  Prevention Coalition, National Family Partnership, PFDA, PTA, and 
  Cool Whip "Say No to Nitrous" Inc. ( :-) about the last one).
- Hollywood can be "pro-active" on this issue, unlike the failed affort to stem
  crack use. (Huh?)

Activities to watch out for:
- Runny nose
- Nausea or appetite loss
- Lack of concentration
- Frequent painting of bicycles (I swear I'm not making this up)

Look under your sink and in your garage and you'll find the source of one of
the most widespread and dangerous drug abuse problems in the world. More than
1,000 household products have been classified by experts (?) as inhalants,
including nail polish remover, liquid paper, spray paint, propane and even the
spritz of air from a can of whipped cream...

...The practice has evolved into a dangerous epidemic (naturally)...
...18 year-old girl sniffed toluene, a chemical in paint thinners. She
concealed it in small bottles and took whiffs even as she lay in bed at
night...Within months she had turned against all authority figures (so?) and was
doing terribly in school. Her addiction had also exacerbated a bleeding ulcer,
sending her into the hospital and eventually therapy..."I was so close to being
6-feet under, I'm just glad I got a second chance" she said.

...Pockets of abuse have been identified among poor (surprise surprise)
Hispanic and Native American populations, but it's now spreading...
...Difficult to ban because each has a legitimate use...Supply side strategies 
don't work...
...By sniffing solvents (seamless segue from inhalants to solvents) 'what
chronic users have done is dissolved their brain' says Dr. Milton Tenenbein,
University of Manitoba, Canada...

Hundreds of inhalant-related deaths occur yearly, say experts:
Car crashes, drownings, PEOPLE JUMPING OFF BUILDINGS (an old favorite returns)
...One man was huffing gas out of car and decided to light a cigarette. 
(and now the world is less one idiot I assume).

Labeling products as dangerous, some say, may invite abuse among curious
youth. (how 'bout curious adults?).

"This problem doesn't lend itself toward interdiction, and that's why 
education and awareness are going to be the cornerstone of preventing 
these tragedies"
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