INHALANT ABUSE GAINING MOMENTUM AMONG AMERICAN YOUTHS

Diane Stem of Old Hickory, Tenn., vividly remembers the day she was called
home by her distraught husband and daughter: Her 16-year-old son, Ricky Joe
Stem Jr., had been found dead in the house with a plastic bag over his
head. He had been sniffing Freon from the house's air-conditioning system.

A hidden epidemic is gaining momentum in the United States, experts say.
Children as young as fourth-graders are deliberately inhaling the fumes of
dangerous chemicals from a variety of household and office products.
Inhalants, as they are known, are widely available and hard to detect, and
are fueling a dangerous trend: The most reliable annual survey of drug use
among children has found that inhalants are the one group of drugs in which
abuse is on the rise.

The chemicals travel rapidly to the brain to produce highs similar to
alcohol intoxication. Unlike the effect of alcohol, these highs disappear
within minutes, making it hard for parents to detect the abuse.

The products, which can include gasoline, cigarette lighter fluid, cleaning
supplies and adhesives, are often highly toxic and addictive.

New brain imaging research has shown that the chemicals can produce lasting
changes in the brain, as well as heart, kidney and liver damage.

The new brain imaging research shows that different inhalants affect
different parts of the brain, which might be why users report preferences.
"Some kids like to huff acetone, some like to huff toluene and some like
butane," said Stephen Dewey, a researcher at the Brookhaven National
Laboratory in New York.

Some indications suggest that the problem may be growing faster among
girls. Overall, nearly one in five eighth-graders has tried an inhalant,
usually by breathing from a rag or a bag doused with a chemical. The
increase in abuse has tracked a sharp drop in youngsters' perceptions of
the risks of inhalants, said Lloyd Johnston, a researcher at the University
of Michigan who helps conduct the annual "Monitoring the Future" survey of
eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders.

Data show that inhalant abuse among children is growing in all parts of the
country. Use is highest among Anglos, followed closely by Hispanics, and is
lower among African-Americans.