NEW YORK, Jan. 19, 2007
Danger Right Under Parents' Noses
Many Teens Using Potentially Fatal Inhalants To Get High At Home
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Play CBS Video Video Teens Abuse Household Products Many teens inhale household products to get high, and it can be deadly. Betty Wong of Family Circle magazine tells Harry Smith about the warning signs parents can look for.
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(CBS/The Early Show)
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Interactive Substance Abuse In America Get the facts on a national problem. Find out where to get help, learn how drugs affect the body and compare state drunk-driving laws.
Trouble is, if you sniff them, they could not only get you high — they could kill you.
Betty Wong, executive editor of Family Circle magazine, had the warning signs parents need to know on The Early Show Friday.
"We were shocked at Family Circle to find out that younger and younger kids are getting into inhalants," she told co-anchor Harry Smith. "It's actually really popular among seventh and eighth graders. We're talking about 12- and 13-year-olds. One out of four adolescents has tried inhalants by the time they're in eighth grade.
"It's a rare side effect, but it can be fatal. It can cause what's called 'sudden sniffing death syndrome,' where it causes the heart to beat very erratically and then suddenly stop. It's just tragic when you hear about cases like that."
Short of that, Wong noted, "The research shows that kids who get into inhalants do use them as a steppingstone to other drugs, such as marijuana and other damaging drugs."
Wong observed that, "There are literally thousands of different products that kids can get high on, ranging from nail polish remover to paint thinner, paints, spray paints, aerosol, air fresheners, deodorants, lighter fluid.
"And, since these are things that are all over the house, in our kitchen cabinets, in the basement, garage, next to the computer, those dust cleaners (to clean keyboards) …"
Wong said kids do it "because it causes this 30- to 60-second kind of euphoria. When they inhale these chemicals, it enters the bloodstream very quickly and it disrupts certain neuron signals in the brain and gives them a quick, quick high. They tend to get sort of that fuzzy, you know, drunk feeling that — same kind of funny and fun for them, but they are under this naive conception that, because these products are out there and everywhere, they are somehow safer than illicit drugs."
There are red flags that could tip parents off to possible inhalants abuse, Wong stressed, including:
Also, look for signs in a child's behavior, such as odd-smelling breath, a dazed look, glassy eyes, slurred speech, or restlessness, anxiety, or a tendency to fly off the handle for no reason.
If parents think there's cause for concern, they should "absolutely" talk to their child about the situation, Wong said, "just as you would talk about the dangers of drug or alcohol or having sex too early. You need to talk about inhalants, and be honest about it."
For much more on inhalants, visit the Web site of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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- It only kills the ones who try it. Helps weed out the stupid.
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- Why should they be shocked?
With the lack of discipline of many of the young parents today who haven't had any discipline of their own, and who CAN'T discipline their children because some idiot at school told the kids they could call the police if their parents laid a hand on them.
You can only watch your kids so many hours of the day, so they need to know where the lines are drawn. With so many parents using drugs themselves(they can buy) like alcohol, sleep aids, etc. (The sleep aids alone.....) the kids figure that it is ok to try their own stuff that they have access to.
If a child dies of inhalant poisoning, punish the parent. When there are no consequences for not doing something, it won't get done.
Yes, yes, someone will say that is heartless, what about the grief of the parent who lost the child.
Would you rather have some type of punishment for for someone who shirks their responsibilities or would you rather have them have a dead kid? - Reply to this comment
- Parents really need to watch their children
cause this stuff is really deadly
if inhaled - Reply to this comment
- countround2
I am a *** good parent and my son tried this if I hadn't been a good parent I would have not discovered what my son was doing and helped him to see what he was doing could be extremely harmful.
So your blanket statement is out of line. - Reply to this comment
- If your kid is stupid enough to get high from household products than you also suck as a parent. But seriously who cares if it kills you, I mean can%u2019t pretty much anything kill you. It%u2019s just that it%u2019s ignorant. Just smoke weed not snort chemicals...
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