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Adults Represent a Majority of Inhalant Treatment Admissions

Inhalant abuse is now a multigenerational problem. “Huffing,” or intentionally inhaling a chemical vapor to get “high,” has been thought to be a serious, life-threatening risk primarily among children and adolescents, but a new government study shows that 54% of treatment admissions related to inhalants abuse in 2008 involved adults aged 18 or older.
 
The study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also shows that 52% of these adult admissions involved people aged 18 to 29, 32% involved people aged 30 to 44, and 16% involved people aged 45 or older.
 
The announcement of the findings was made by SAMHSA in collaboration with the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition (NIPC). The SAMHSA study was based on data collected from treatment facilities across the country. Inhalants can produce mind-altering effects. Chronic use of inhalants can cause irreversible damage to the brain, kidneys, and lungs, as well as death.
 
The magnitude of the inhalant problem among adults is also highlighted in the latest figures from SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which shows that an estimated 1.1 million adults over the age of 18 used inhalants in the past year. By contrast, estimated adult past year use levels for the following other substances are lower:

Crack - 988,000
LSD - 637,000
Heroin - 571,000
PCP - 75,000
 
“Traditionally, our focus has been on prevention with children while attempting to locate assistance for those needing help, treatment and support,” says Harvey Weiss, executive director of the NIPC. “The frequency of emails and calls on our toll-free hotline from people needing help for spouses, older siblings and friends, parents, and even grandparents, has led us to understand that people of all ages are at risk and may need help with this problem.”
 
The SAMHSA Spotlight Study shows that most of the admissions involving inhalants were male (72%), more than one-third had less than a high school education (38%), and almost three-quarters were non-Hispanic white (72%).

— Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration