INHALANT DRUGS: TYPES, CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSEQUENCES - ARTE - 2025

The inhalant drugs are volatile substances that produce chemical vapors that may be inhaled to cause a particular psychoactive effect. They are therefore substances whose main use is not consumption. However, when inhaled they produce effects similar to those of drugs designed or used for recreational purposes.

This defining characteristic of inhalant drugs encompasses a wide range of chemicals. In fact, today, multiple elements have been described that can be inhaled and produce psychoactive effects.

Some examples of inhalant drugs are glues, gasoline, paints, or deodorants, among many others. Each of the substances that make up this type of psychoactive elements can cause different effects.

The fact that inhalant drugs are not products designed for consumption and recreational use, supposes a high unpredictability of their effects and consequences.

The use of these substances is increasingly prevalent in our society. The main factors that motivate the increase in consumption is the low price of inhalants compared to other types of drugs.

In this sense, the classification and determination of the characteristics, effects, and consequences of inhalant drugs is one of the main topics of interest in drug addiction research.

Types of inhalant drugs

The classification of inhalant drugs is one of the main complications that these substances present. There are many elements that, when inhaled, can cause psychoactive effects, so managing to group them into categories is highly complex.

Faced with this situation, despite its limitations, the classification system that has obtained the most scientific evidence proposes four categories. These categories lie mainly in the characteristics of the substances and not so much in the psychoactive effects or the consequences that their consumption causes.

Inhalant drugs can be grouped into four different types: volatile solvents, aerosols, gases, and nitrites.

Volatile solvents

Canister with gasoline. Source: Burger

Volatile solvents are liquid substances that vaporize at room temperature. They can be found in a wide variety of inexpensive and easily accessible products, which is why their consumption is simple and increasingly prevalent in society.

Volatile solvents include household and industrial use products such as: thinners, paint removers, dry cleaning fluids, grease removers, gasoline, glues, and correction fluids.

Obviously, these items are not produced or sold for recreational use. Their functions are not intended for consumption, however, if they are inhaled they produce psychoactive effects, so they can act as drugs.

Aerosol sprays

Source: PiccoloNamek

The aerosol is a colloid of solid or liquid particles suspended in a gas. In fact, the term aerosol refers to both the particles and the gas in which they are suspended.

These substances are sprays that contain propellants and solvents. Some products with these characteristics are spray paints, deodorants, hair fixers, cooking oil sprays, or fabric and fabric protection sprays.

Its consumption is carried out by the same route as the rest of inhalant drugs, that is, inhalation. The administration of these substances can cause significant psychoactive effects.

Gases

Bottles with chloroform. Source: Flickr: Chickamauga 2009, Chloroform Author: Kevin King

Gases are low-density substances that can spread indefinitely. Inhalant gases include multiple substances that, when consumed, have direct effects on brain function.

The most consumed are anesthetics for medical use such as ether, chloroform, halothane and, above all, nitrous oxide.

Other gases consumed as inhalant drugs are household and / or commercial products such as butane lighters, propane tanks and refrigerants.

Nitrites

Isobutyl nitrite or "poppers" Source: UK Home Office

Nitrites are substances formed by salts or esters from nitrous acid. These elements appear by biological oxidation of amines and ammonia or by reduction of nitrate under anaerobic conditions.

These types of substances deserve a differentiation from other inhalant drugs, since they produce different effects. Unlike volatile solvents, aerosols and gases, nitrites do not act directly on the central nervous system when consumed.

Nitrites widen the blood vessels and relax the muscles, so they are not consumed to alter mood, but the state of the body.

In this way, elements such as cyclohexyl nitrite, isomalic nitrite or isobutyl nitrite (popularly known as "poppers") are inhaled mainly to enhance sexual pleasure.

Although amyl nitrite was previously used as a treatment for angina pectoris, today these substances are prohibited from marketing.

However, nitrite is readily available on the market, marketed in small bottles and labeled "video head cleaners" or "room perfumes."

Consumption mode

The defining characteristic of inhalant drugs is their mode of consumption. That is, they are substances that are administered through aspiration, either through the nose or through the mouth.

However, inhalation of these substances can be done in several ways. These modes of consumption depend largely on the qualities of the inhaled substance and the subject's administration preference.

Currently, 5 different consumption modes have been described:

Sucking

It is the most widely used mode of consumption of inhalant drugs. Try to breathe in or breathe in the vapors directly from the container.

In this case, if, for example, glue is consumed, the lid of the container would be opened and the vapor of the product would be inhaled directly.

Spraying

The spray technique is applied mainly in aerosols, due to the characteristics of these products.

Aerosols allow substances to be sprayed directly, so for consumption the product is applied to the mouth or nose so that the substances penetrate the body.

Inhaling vapors of sprayed substances

This form of consumption is somewhat more elaborate but no less used among individuals who use these drugs.

Try to breathe in the vapors of substances that have been previously sprayed or deposited inside a plastic or paper bag. In this way, a more direct contact with the vapors is achieved and the consumption of psychoactive substances is facilitated.

Inhaling products applied to a cloth

Similar to the previous method, there are subjects who choose to apply the product on a cloth. Subsequently, the cloth is applied to the mouth and / or nose, and the psychoactive substances that have been impregnated in it are inhaled.

Inhaling balloons

Finally, nitrous oxide presents a widespread consumption modality different from the previous ones. In this case, the product is applied in a balloon, and the air inside it is sucked directly.

Statistics

Inhalant use is a growing phenomenon in society. More and more people choose to use these drugs to achieve effects on the central nervous system.

Inhalants are highly consumed among the younger population. A national American survey determined that almost 3% of American children had already tried inhalants before the age of 10.

Likewise, the consumption of these drugs can extend into adulthood and become chronic, so the abuse of these substances can begin at a very early age.

Another prominent feature of inhalants is that they do not usually have a specific pattern of abuse. That is, an individual who uses inhalants usually opts for any inhalant drug available, so it may not be limited to the abuse of a specific substance.

However, the effects of each inhalant drug are different and each individual may have a marked preference for a certain substance, although they also consume other inhalants.

A Future Watch (MTF) study reported that the age of highest inhalant drug use is set between 12 and 15 years. Likewise, no sex differences appear to be observed in the consumption of these substances at these ages. However, in adulthood (18 to 25) there is a greater abuse of inhalant drugs in men than in women.

After 16 years of age, its prevalence is reduced to approximately 10%, and it is clearly surpassed by marijuana, which rises to 30-40%.

How do inhalant drug substances get to the brain?

Whatever the mode of inhalants consumption, the result is the same. Through aspiration, the substances in the products are quickly absorbed through the mouth or nose.

In the same way that happens with oxygen when you breathe, substances are quickly absorbed by the lungs and, through them, reach the blood. Once in the blood, the substances travel throughout the body, until they reach the brain.

During the seconds after consumption, the individual experiences intoxication, due to the rapid arrival of substances to the brain. Initial intoxication is characterized by a series of effects similar to those caused by alcohol.

Effects of inhalant drugs

Each of the inhalant drugs can produce different and highly varied pharmacological effects. However, most of them share a number of characteristics.

Inhalant drugs often produce a rapid sensation of euphoria, accompanied by initial excitement and followed by drowsiness, disinhibition, lightheadedness, and agitation.

With high amounts, the use of inhalants produces anesthesia, loss of sensation, and extreme abuse can cause loss of consciousness.

Other symptoms that inhalant drugs can cause include belligerence, apathy, impaired judgment, and malfunctioning.

Likewise, dizziness, drowsiness, stammering, lethargy, general muscle weakness, and stupor are signs that can appear easily.

On the other hand, recent studies have shown that people who consume these substances may also experience headaches, a feeling of reeling, confusion, delusions, nausea, and vomiting.

Finally, inhaled nitrites have somewhat different effects. They dilate blood vessels, increase the heart rate, produce sensations of heat, excitement, and cause symptoms such as flushing or dizziness.

Inhalant drug addiction

The abuse of inhalant drugs for long periods of time usually generates a clear addiction. Most users report a strong need to continue using inhalants. Long-term abuse can lead to compulsive use of these substances.

Inhalant drugs can also cause withdrawal syndrome in the addicted person. However, it is less serious compared to that caused by other substances such as alcohol, cocaine or marijuana.

Consequences

Inhalant drug abuse is a clear risk factor for a wide range of diseases. In fact, the consequences of the consumption of these substances are considered devastating for the person.

The worst consequence of inhaling substances is heart failure, which causes the syndrome known as "sudden inhalation death."

Other negative consequences of using these drugs include; suffocation, suffocation, seizures, coma, choking, decreased smell, violent behavior, hepatitis, toilet training difficulties, and fatal trauma.

Finally, research on the effects of inhalant drugs shows that they are highly toxic. In this way, the habitual consumption of these substances greatly damages the peripheral nervous system of the brain.

References

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