HUFFING - A BREATH OF DEATH

It's right under your nose.

It's that awful smell from bathroom cleansers, or from gasoline, or
nail polish. It's even the more pleasant smell of canned whipped
cream. All of those things can kill you when misused as inhalants.

Hundreds of young people - mostly between ages 11 and 14 - die each
year from "huffing," or breathing chemicals, according to the
Texas-based National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.

A 1998 national survey by the University of Indiana's Prevention
Resource Center said 4.8 percent of eighth-graders surveyed said they
used inhalants once or more a month.

Rock Island police said inhalants were at least partly responsible for
the March 18 death of Zachary Abbott, a 14-year-old Milan boy killed
when he was hit by two cars as he walked on U.S. 67.

The Rock Island County Sheriff's Department received an anonymous tip
that Mr. Abbott had been huffing toxic chemicals the days he died.
Witnesses told police his behavior before the accident was strange -
that he was talking to himself, didn't remember his activities earlier
that day, and was virtually "marching" on the highway.

Those are typical behaviors for someone huffing chemicals, according
to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National
Institutes of Health, a federal agency. NIDA says inhalants can cause
intoxicating, mind-altering effects that can last a few minutes to
several hours.

"Inhalants produce effects similar to anesthetics," according to
NIDA's Web site. The high can last for minutes or hours, depending on
how often the abuser inhales and how much is inhaled at one time.

NIDA categorizes three types of inhalants: solvents, gases and
nitrites. Solvents include paint thinners, gasoline and glues. Some
liquids, such as butane and propane, emit gases that can be inhaled,
as do whipped-cream canisters. Amyl nitrite is available only by
prescription, and butyl nitrite is now illegal.

According to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, Sudden
Sniffing Death Syndrome "frequently occurs when someone inhales high
concentration of aerosol sprays, model-airplane glue and spot removers."

Sandy Squire, a counselor for the Center for Alcohol and Drug Services
in Davenport, said the most frequent inhalant abusers are
adolescents.

"Finding inhalants is very easy," she said. "It's one of the first
drugs kids try."

Rock Island Police Sgt. Jim Chadwick, commander of the juvenile
investigation division of Rock Island's Drug Abuse Resistance
Education program, said he hasn't seen extensive inhalant abuse in the
Quad Cities, although "it's probably easier for them to acquire" than
other drugs.

And it's easier to use them because they are sniffed or inhaled
through the nose or mouth, according to the Web site for Teen
Challenge World Wide Network. According to Teen Challenge, chemicals
such as airplane glue - which contains the solvents toulene and xylene
- - often are placed in a paper bag or on a rag, then sniffed.

Abusers also get gases directly from pressurized containers, such as
the nitrous oxide often used in dentist offices, Teen Challenge says.
That method can be more dangerous, because the released gases can
freeze tissue in the mouth and throat or stop the heart.

Ms. Squire said that perhaps the first sign of hugging someone would
notice is the bad smell, which is very strong. Changes in hygiene and
mood swings also are signs, she said.

"Huffing is extremely frightening," said Lt. Dan Roach, director of
the Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group. "With any drug, it's
always possible that more people are doing it more than we suspect."

That's one of the dangers of hugging; it's hard to detect, and parents
don't know their kids are doing it.

Even though Sgt. Chadwick said he hasn't seen a lot of hugging among
local adolescents, "across the nation it is pretty big," he said.

Huffing can kill you, the first time you use it or the 100th time, Ms.
Squire said. "You could be huffing 20 times, and the next time you
could be gone."

Sidebar: Signs of Huffing: Paint or stains on clothing, sores around the
mouth, a chemical breath odor, red or runny eyes or nose, drunk or dazed
appearance, nausea, loss of appetite, anxiety