A TOLL MORE TERRIBLE THAN ECSTASY

SOLVENT abuse has claimed 1,691 lives in Britain during the past 20 years.
More dangerous than many illegal drugs, aerosols are inhaled by people
looking for a quick 'high'. What they do not realise is that butane, the
propellant in the cans which produces a buzz similar to alcohol, can be
deadly - causing breathing failure, heart attacks, kidney or liver failure.

Of the 77 deaths in the Uk in 1997, the last available figures, more than a
third were first-time users. Almost all died from a heart attack.

Warren Hawksley, director of Re-Solv (Society for the Prevention of Solvent
Abuse), said: "This is an horrific figure. There are seven times more
deaths from solvent abuse as there are for Ecstasy. but people still don't
know what the dangers are. It can kill you at any time. We have to give a
warning: Do not try it whatever you do." The number of deaths from solvent
abuse has remained fairly consistent throughout the last decades, averaging
at 86 a year. It peaked in 1990 with 152 deaths. Statistics indicate that
those most at risk are boys aged 16 to 18. Between 1971 and 197, 87 per
cent of the victims were males.

Solvent abuse is more prevalent in the North. Scotland, for example, has
twice as many deaths as Wales.

Gas lighters, the most commonly abused solvent, accounted for two thirds of
deaths in 1997. Aerosols, including deodorants and hair sprays, took the
lives of 13 per cent. The remaining 20 per cent died after inhaling gases
from correction fluid, paint thinner and plaster remover. Aerosol
manufacturers are looking at ways to improve the composition of canisters
to improve their safety.