Inhalant is a breathable chemical vapor that produces mind-altering effects. The use of inhalants is one of the most serious types of drug misuse in young people. Children as young as 6 to 8 years of age have misused inhalants. Doctors think that the highest rate of misuse occurs among teenagers 14 or 15 years old.
Experts estimate that more than 1,000 substances emit vapors that can be used as inhalants, including certain types of glues, paint thinners, and cleaning agents. Many inhalants are commercial products designed for removing or dissolving fats and oils. After their vapors are inhaled, these fat-dissolving chemicals reach the brain. A fatty substance naturally coats many of the brain’s billions of nerve cells. Inhalants attack these fatty parts of nerve cells in much the same way as they remove grease and oil. As a result, people risk serious brain damage by misusing inhalants.
People who breathe in inhalants—even if it is their first time—also risk heart failure and sudden death. Doctors think inhalants can cause sudden death by making the heart muscle especially sensitive to a hormone called epinephrine. If someone is startled while using inhalants, their body’s release of epinephrine can cause a deadly irregular heartbeat. Other dangers of inhalants may include suffocation, hearing loss, and damage to nerves and bone marrow (blood-forming tissue).
