INHALANT USE RISING AMONG 8TH-GRADERS

Nearly one in five eighth-graders said they have attempted to get high by
inhaling potentially toxic vapors such as those found in glue, gasoline,
paint thinner, butane lighters, nail polish remover and aerosol sprays.

In a nationwide survey conducted at 147 schools, about 17.3% of 17,413
eighth-graders said they had tried sniffing such substances. The anonymous
questionnaires, collected last year by University of Michigan researchers,
showed the second consecutive surge in the abuse rate -- up from 15.3% in
2003 -- after a 40% decline following a campaign in the mid-'90s against
the solvents' dangers.

Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which
funds the annual survey, said last week that the government agency was
launching a new campaign to alert children and parents of the dangers of
the "silent epidemic." The inhalant abuse can cause instant death by
triggering cardiac arrhythmias and asphyxiation. It also can cause
blindness, neuropathy and harm to major bodily organs.

"For whatever reason, the perception of the drugs as risky has decreased in
younger kids," Volkow said of the report, initially released in December.

The inhalants primarily are used by sixth-to eighth-graders, who are more
likely to graduate to other drugs as they get older. The abuse is
particularly difficult to detect because the solvents don't show up in
urine or blood tests.

Volkow said parents and teachers should watch for smelly or stained
clothes, as well as discoloration and dryness around the child's nails and
mouth, erratic behavior, and abnormal accumulations of substance containers
in the trash or a child's room .