A WARNING FLAG AGAINST LATEST FAD 'HIGH' FOR TEENS

Abuse Of Dust-Off Can Prove Fatal, Authorities Say

Generations of teenagers have sniffed common household products --
from glue to Whiteout to the propane in cigarette lighters -- for a
cheap, easy route to intoxication. But the danger posed by the
latest inhalant of choice, a common computer keyboard cleaner called
"Dust-Off," has prompted area police to warn parents and teens that
the "high" could be fatal. Inhaling the compressed gas can cause
brain damage and heart failure by robbing the lungs of oxygen, authorities say.

In March, a 14-year-old boy from Ohio was found dead in his bed with
a canister beside him. His death has received wide attention after
his father, a police sergeant, posted a cautionary letter on the
Internet that has caught the notice of police, educators, and parents.

Last summer, three California teenagers died in a car crash, and a
can of Dust-Off was found inside the vehicle. In July, a teenager
passed out in a West Hartford, Conn., drugstore after inhaling
Dust-Off, then arose moments later to do it again, according to
newspaper reports.

In response, Falcon Safety Products, the maker of Dust-Off, released
a statement citing the dangers of inhalant abuse and highlighting its
efforts to combat the problem. Many stores, including Staples and
Wal-Mart, have banned sales of the product to minors.

"One beer is not going to kill you under almost any circumstances,
but with sniffing, you never know," said Patrolman Timothy O'Leary,
the Foxborough Police Department's juvenile officer.

Foxborough is among the area departments that have circulated a
Dust-Off warning. After receiving a Massachusetts Chiefs of Police
Association advisory this summer, O'Leary passed it along to local
school officials. Teenagers "huffing" vapors -- or, in the case of
Dust-Off, "dusting" -- is a long-standing problem. Although inhalant
abuse declined after the mid-1990s, it has accelerated of late,
youth surveys show. According to a 2003 study by the Partnership for
a Drug-Free America, use among middle school students had risen by
44 percent as fewer youngsters viewed inhalant use as dangerous.
Roughly one in four eighth-graders reported trying an inhalant at
least once, the survey found, while the practice declined in high
school, with older teens beginning to dismiss it as childish.

Alejandro Rivera, program director for Impact Quincy, a
substance-abuse prevention program, calls inhalant use "the silent
epidemic" because it receives less attention than teen drug or alcohol use.

Most teens and parents don't appreciate the dangers of inhalants,
authorities say. Ashli Doyle, a Weymouth High School junior, said
teenagers are aware inhalants aren't good for them, but some feel the
rush is worth it. "People will talk about using air fresheners and
other aerosols and say, 'Oh man, we were so messed up,' " Doyle said.
"They think they are being cool, trying something new."

Parents do not typically discuss inhalants with their children,
focusing instead on drugs and alcohol. And there is some disagreement
on how much of a problem is posed by inhalants, with many area police
departments and school counselors contending its use is limited.

Bill Phillips, who talks with students and parents across the state
about the dangers of drug and inhalant abuse through his
Framingham-based program, "New Beginnings," said adults are stunned
when he tells them middle-schoolers are breathing vapors just for
kicks. "Parents go out of their minds that kids would go to those
lengths to get high," he said. "Dust-Off is the most extreme."
Phillips said he has worked with area teenagers who have entered
rehabilitation facilities solely to kick inhalant habits. Parents'
ignorance carries a cost, experts say. If not explicitly told
otherwise, youngsters often see inhalants as mindless fun without
serious consequences.

"One of the difficulties in inhalant abuse is that youngsters see
them as otherwise legal products," said Michael Botticelli, assistant
commissioner for substance abuse services at the state Department of
Public Health. But while the products are legal to obtain, inhaling
them is against the law, he noted. Inhalants are alluring to
youngsters for other reasons, too. "There's no odor, no residue. It's
much harder to get caught," said Howard Wolfe, who directs the New
England Inhalant Abuse Prevention Coalition, which works with
schools, the courts, and youth groups. "It's a way to use a drug
without getting involved in a drug deal. With inhalants, you can just
go to a drugstore."

Dominic DiNatale, executive director of DARE Massachusetts, a drug
education program offered by local police departments, said he
believes the use of inhalants is far more widespread in more rural
areas, as surveys have suggested. "We know it's out there, but no one
really talks about it," he said. The practice claims more than 100
lives a year nationwide, according to Harvey Weiss, executive
director of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition. "Everyone's
talking about meth right now," he said, referring to the stimulant
methamphetamine, "but far more people are using inhalants." Jeff
Williams, the Cleveland-area police sergeant whose son died of
chemical asphyxiation in March after using Dust-Off, said the teen
didn't think he was doing anything especially wrong or dangerous.

"Kyle had been told by friends that it couldn't hurt him," Williams
said. "He thought it was just a playful thing."

Williams said the coroner's report concluded that Kyle's heart
stopped immediately after he had inhaled the Dust-Off, with a
chemical in the product found in his bloodstream.

He said he hoped Kyle's death warns people to the dangers of
inhalants, and pointed to the many e-mails he has received from
teachers who had read his letter to their classes, and from students
who said they had tried inhalants but never would again.

Those messages provide some small measure of consolation to a father
who said he consistently reminded his son about the dangers of drug
use. "Kyle knew never to do drugs," Williams said. "He just didn't
know not to do this."