Volatile Substances

A range of everyday household products with legitimate personal, domestic and industrial uses can be used to achieve intoxication. Several volatile substances are available directly over the counter, and the most commonly used are gas fuels, aerosols and glues.

PRODUCTS

Gas fuels - gas lighter refill canisters, bottled domestic gas, propane gas cylinder, acetylene, and natural gas

Aerosols - deodorant/anti-perspirant, air freshener, hair spray, cleaning fluids, insect spray, hot and cold sprays

Adhesives & glues - contact adhesives, bicycle tyre repair glue, model glue

Other products - chloroform, industrial solvents/degreasers,anaesthetic agents, dry cleaning fluids, paint thinners and strippers, benzene, N-hexane.

SUBSTANCES

Butane, propane, LPG, DME and/or fluorocarbons, propane, ethyl acetate, hexane, toluene, xylenes, acetone, trichloroethylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, butanone, dichloromethane, tetrachloroethane, tetrachloroethylene.

Street use
Volatile substances are usually discharged directly into the mouth or inhaled from cloth or plastic bags.

Drug effects
Depressants (downers). Vapours from volatile substances pass rapidly from the lungs to the brain causing depression of the central nervous system. Effects similar to acute alcoholic intoxication occur within 2-3 minutes. Feelings of euphoria are common and some users report hallucinations. If inhalation continues there is further depression of central nervous system which leads to loss of awareness, judgement and muscular co-ordination and eventual coma. Intoxicating effects last for 20-30 minutes. Sniffers often report a mild 'hangover' for up to a day after use.

Dependency
Tolerance develops so that over time larger and larger quantities of the substances are required to produce the same effect.

Withdrawal
Occasional mild physical withdrawal symptoms, such as headaches, have been noted. However, psychological rather than physical dependence is more common.

Long term use
There have been some reports of physical harm. Although rare, symptoms include blurred vision, agitation, tremors, muscle weakness, headache, chest pain and dizziness. In severe cases, there may be stupor, coma and convulsions. Chronic users may have sniffers rash (usually around the mouth and nose) and show impaired performance on memory, intelligence and concentration tests. In most cases, functions return to normal once use ceases. Toluene has been implicated in reversible impairment of the central nervous system and visual problems. In a small number of cases, loss of brain tissue has also been reported. N-hexane has been lined to visual problems and limb dysfunction, while trichloroethylene*, trichloroethane and tetrachloroethylene have been associated with a small number of cases of liver/kidney damage. Benzene is highly toxic and has been shown to cause bone marrow depression.

Fatalities
There is an ever-present risk of death from the use of volatile substances, even for experimental or first-time users. A range of products are used, each containing different substances with different effects. The common method of administration of some products by spraying into the mouth means that it is difficult to control the dose. In some vulnerable people, the use of these products may sensitise the heart to the effects of adrenaline, and subsequent exertion can lead to 'sudden sniffing death', where the heart stops beating properly. There is a significant risk of suffocation caused by swelling of the larynx (back of the throat) when using gas fuels and aerosols.

Risk in pregnancy
Volatile substances pass the placental barrier, but there is little information about their effects on the foetus.

Legal status
The possession of solvents is not a crime in Scotland. The Solvent Abuse (Scotland) Act 1983 makes sniffing of volatile substances grounds for referral to the Children's Panel. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Intoxicating Substance Supply Act 1985, makes it an offence to knowingly supply solvents for inhalation to anyone under the age of 18 years. In Scotland, Common Law allows for a similar provision. Amyl nitrite is a Prescription Only Medicine. Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, it is an offence to sell cigarette lighter gas refills to anyone aged under 18.

SPECIAL NOTE
Between 1971 and 1999, there were 1857 deaths in the UK related to volatile substance use, 250 of which occurred in Scotland. Scotland has one of the highest mortality rates in the UK. Over half the deaths in the UK associated with volatile substance use are due to the direct toxic effects of inhaling substances and inhalation of vomit, The proportions of deaths attributable to suffocation by plastic bag and trauma (such as hanging and drowning) have fallen in recent years in line with the decline in the number of deaths associated with glues.

*Trichloroethylene was recently categorised as a Group 2A carcinogen (probably carinogenic to humans) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (World Health Organisation).