SMELLY RUGBY SEEN AS DETERRENT TO ADDICTION

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency wants the makers of Rugby, the brand
name of a popular adhesive, to make the glue smell "like hell" so that
street children would be discouraged from sniffing it.

"If chemical engineers can do it to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is
essentially an odorless chemical, they can also do it to contact cement,"
PDEA Undersecretary and Director General Anselmo Avenido Jr. said over the
weekend.

The aromatic smell of Rugby is the primary reason for its popularity as a
substitute stimulant among indigent children. If the contact cement were
reformulated to make it stink, this would deter dependents from using it,
he said.

Rugby contains tolouene, a controlled substance which is used in the
manufacture of the illegal drug shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride).
Inhaling it produces a "high" similar to the effect of taking shabu.
Because it is addictive, its prolonged use can damage the lungs and brain
leading to an early death.

Contact cement is affordable and readily available in hardware stores and
can be bought by anyone regardless of age.

Rugby is not covered by Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous
Drugs Act of 2002, so the PDEA is powerless to stop those who sell and
abuse the stimulant.