Huffing Addiction Inhalants

Inhalants are chemical or gaseous substances that produce mind-altering effects when inhaled. Most of them are products used in everyday life, so they are not typically classified as drugs. They can be extremely dangerous because they are generally not intended for human consumption, and they can cause permanent damage and death.

Addiction inhalants that are used as drugs fall into four broad categories:

• Volatile solvents: industrial or household products like paint thinners, gasoline and cleaning products, and office or art supplies like glue and felt-tip markers
• Aerosols: hairspray, deodorant, spray paints, aerosol cleaning products
• Gases: household or commercial products like butane lighters, propane tanks and “whippets” (whipped cream aerosol cans), and medical anaesthetics like nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”), ether and chloroform
• Nitrites: substances like amyl nitrite and cyclohexyl nitrite (“poppers”), which are usually sold as sexual enhancement products

Addiction Inhalants are taken in a number of ways, the most common of which are the following:

• Huffing: inhalation via a chemical-soaked rag that is held to the face
• Sniffing: inhalation directly from the product or a vessel containing the product
• Bagging: inhalation via a plastic bag that has been sprayed with vapours and placed over the head

Inhalants have the same potential as other substances to become addictive. Their effects are felt quickly, and regular users often have intense cravings and physical withdrawal symptoms between uses.

When inhalants are breathed in, they are absorbed by the lungs and quickly travel to the brain in the user’s blood. This results in an immediate feeling of intoxication that lasts anywhere from a few minutes to almost an hour. While some use of inhalants is occasional and experimental, there are people who use them regularly, repeatedly taking breaths of the substance to sustain the high for several hours.