LOUISA SHERIFF LOBBIES FOR LAW AGAINST 'HUFFING'

Inhaling Aerosol Fumes To Get 'High' Poses Health Risk

Wapello, Iowa -- Louisa County may outlaw "huffing."

Sheriff Curt Braby told Louisa County Supervisors he would like to see a
county ordinance against the use of inhalants for the purpose of getting high.

"The kids are inhaling such things as spray paint and getting it into their
lungs," he said. "It usually leaves a residue around the mouth so you can
imagine what it is doing to the lungs. If we had a law on the books, we
could get them into treatment before they seriously hurt their health or
move on to hard drugs."

The proposed ordinance would make it illegal for any person to "smell or
inhale the fumes from model glue, hair spray, inhalers or other solvents or
chemicals having the property of releasing toxic vapors" for the purpose of
"causing the condition of intoxication, euphoria, excitement, exhilaration,
stupefaction or dulling the senses or nervous system."

Braby said most huffers are juveniles.

"Without an ordinance, we are powerless," he said. "Getting this law on the
books would give us some options to get the kids into the judicial system
and get them off dangerous chemicals before they hurt themselves."

Huffing aerosols can cause liver and brain damage, Braby said. Large
quantities take the oxygen out of the system and can be lethal.

Besides aerosols, gasoline is a popular inhalant, he said.

Alan Poage of the Louisa County Public Health Nursing Department said
substances that contain particulates, such as paint, leave a residue in the
lungs, while glue or other fumes can lower oxygen levels and destroy brain
cells.

"The very act of huffing can be fatal," she said. "It is very, very dangerous."

Huffers usually spray the substance into a paper bag and then try to
quickly inhale fumes from the bag with large fast breaths.

Braby said there have been incidents at Louisa-Muscatine schools, but his
hands have been tied without such a law.

Roger Roskens, Louisa-Muscatine High School principal said he would support
the proposed law "if it provides a way to keep students from getting
dangerous substances into their systems."

Charles Reighard, Columbus Community High School principal, said the law
sounds reasonable. "The whole key is the terminology 'for the purpose of.'
It is not banning these products from normal use."

Wapello High School Principal Steve Bohlen said his school makes a point of
not having cleaning supplies openly available at the school as a way to
discourage huffers.

The supervisors will forward the proposal to the county attorney before
voting on it.