- Knowledgebase: Questions about Drugs and Tobacco
- Questions about drug use, for adolescents and their parents.
- 13. Inhalant Information - Top
- Lighter fluid, like gasoline, model airplane glue, paint thinner, varnish, nail polish remover, and even some types of cover-up products, are members of the organic solvent, or volatile organic compound (VOC), family. Like the effects of low-dose anesthesia, the pungent fumes of these chemicals produce a lightheaded and hot feeling. Because of their toxicity, organic solvents can also lead to dizziness and nausea. Many heavy solvent sniffers report altered states of consciousness, complete with visual hallucinations and vivid dreamlike experiences while awake.
For many young people — especially eleven to thirteen year olds — inhalation of solvent fumes, also called "huffing," is their first chemically induced high. This makes sense given that these agents are legal, cheap, and readily available around the house. For the most part, light use of solvents for getting high does not directly cause mental or physical harm; since 1970, however, there has been a steady rise in "sudden sniffing death" due to VOC-induced heart attacks and asphyxiation. Other problems arise when disoriented users drive, cross busy streets, and do other activities that require sharp judgment and reflexes. Some links have been made between birth defects and mothers who sniffed solvents while pregnant.
Serious consequences are more likely as exposure to these compounds rises — particularly among workers in industrial plants, where ventilation and protective equipment are inadequate. The fumes produced by these substances are taxing to the respiratory system and liver, and can cause loss of consciousness and brain damage in extreme cases.
- Updated: March 10, 2001
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