Inhalant use concerns me due to the availability of substances for young people. I don't feel that

most students comprehend how dangerous they can be since they are not illegal products. Prior to reading

this article I didn't realize that there are three ways to use inhalants - huffing, bagging, and sniffing. The

average age of first use of inhalants is 12.3 years, occurring before the first use of alcohol which is 12.6

years. This didn't surprise me since I suspected that 2 of my third grade students had experimented with

inhalants due to comments that I've overheard and by lack of supervision by their parents. The article cites

reports of high levels of violence by inhalant users, fights. accidental injuries, lower grades, not completing

work, and skipping class. As I look through our grade school I suspect that there are several other children

already experimenting with these substances, some of whose families are involved with SRS.

A surprising fact in this article was that of the students surveyed, the lowest abuse rate of inhalants

was reported by African American students. The highest use group was bi-racial with Caucasian students

ranking second in use.

I feel that inhalant use needs to be addressed by the schools by educating both students and parents

of the dangers of these substances. Inhalant users are more likely to use other drugs and six times more

likely to abuse alcohol. Risk of death from inhalant intoxication comes not only from medical complications

but also from impulsive behaviors such as suicide, homicide, and accidental injury.