Vive! Teen Blog
November 9, 2006
HUFFING
Did you know that huffing--the inhalation of household products to get high--is the fourth most popular method of substance abuse for kids between the ages of 14 and 17? I thought that huffing died in the mid 90s with a handful of renegade, and probably broke, stoners, but I was wrong. Teenagers in record numbers are using this approach to get a cheap, convenient high, inhaling everything from typewriter correction fluid to spray paint to air fresheners--legal products easily found in any home. After all, it's safe, right? And convenient. And cheap. The perfect drug. There's no drug dealer to meet in a secret alleyway, no risk of getting caught with a controlled substance, and very little, if any, expense involved. Just a plastic baggy and a tube of glue and you're off to paradise.
But huffing? Seriously? If you're willing to roll the dice with brain damage, severe depression, and death, I guess a ten-minute high is a worthwhile gamble. The NDIA's (National Drug Intelligence Agency) website says that "inhalant abuse may result in serious and sometimes irreversible damage to the user's heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, and brain. Brain damage may result in personality changes, diminished cognitive functioning, memory impairment, and slurred speech." Irreversible slurred speech? Sheesh... where do I sign up? These things can happen on a person's first, or fifth, or hundredth huffing experience. People take a whiff and almost instantly their heart stops; it even has a name--Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. It's a true gamble with immediate payout; like most gambling, though, the odds are with the house.
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