March 25, 2010 |
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An estimated 2.4 million adolescents (9.7 percent) used an inhalant during their lifetime, and 1.0 million adolescents (4.1 percent) used an inhalant in the past year. On any given day in the past year, 44,000 adolescents used inhalants.4
Rates of past year inhalant use were slightly higher among females than among males (4.3 vs. 3.9 percent) and among those aged 14 or 15 than among those aged 12 or 13 and those aged 16 or 17 (4.7 vs. 4.1 and 3.5 percent, respectively) (Figure 1). Asians and blacks were less likely than American Indians or Alaska Natives, Hispanics, whites, and persons of two or more races to have used an inhalant in the past year.
Demographic Characteristics | Percent |
---|---|
Aged 12 or 13 | 4.1% |
Aged 14 or 15 | 4.7% |
Aged 16 or 17 | 3.5% |
American Indian or Alaska Native | 5.5% |
Hispanic or Latino | 4.6% |
White | 4.4% |
Persons of Two or More Races | 4.4% |
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 3.0% |
Asian | 2.7% |
Black or African American | 2.5% |
Source: 2006 to 2008 SAMHSA National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs). |
Nearly one tenth (9.8 percent) of adolescents had been told by a doctor or other medical professional that they had asthma in the past year, 3.2 percent had been told that they had bronchitis, 0.9 percent had been told that they had pneumonia, and 0.8 percent had been told that they had sinusitis. At least one of these respiratory conditions was indicated by 13.5 percent of adolescents.
Male and female adolescents were equally likely to have had at least one of the four respiratory conditions, and there were no differences by age group (data not shown). However, rates varied by racial/ethnic group, ranging from a high of 17.4 percent among adolescents of two or more races to a low of 8.4 percent among Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander adolescents (Figure 2).
Race/Ethnicity | Percent |
---|---|
Persons of Two or More Races | 17.4% |
Black or African American | 16.4% |
American Indian or Alaska Native | 13.9% |
White | 13.7% |
Hispanic or Latino | 11.2% |
Asian | 9.4% |
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 8.4% |
* Respiratory conditions are asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and sinusitis. Source: 2006 to 2008 SAMHSA National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs). |
Approximately 143,000 adolescents (0.6 percent) both used inhalants and had at least one of the four respiratory conditions in the past year.
Nearly 1 in 20 adolescents with at least one of the respiratory conditions in the past year (4.4 percent) also used an inhalant in the past year (Figure 3); this is similar to the rate of 4.1 percent found among adolescents overall. An estimated 5.3 percent of those who had pneumonia, 4.9 percent of those who had bronchitis, 4.2 percent of those who had asthma, and 4.1 percent of those who had sinusitis used inhalants in the past year.
Selected Respiratory Conditions | Percent |
---|---|
Pneumonia | 5.3% |
Bronchitis | 4.9% |
Asthma | 4.2% |
Sinusitis | 4.1% |
At Least One of Four Respiratory Conditions | 4.4% |
Source: 2006 to 2008 SAMHSA National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs). |
The three types of inhalants most commonly ever used by adolescents with at least one of the four past year respiratory conditions were (1) glue, shoe polish, or toluene; (2) gasoline or lighter fluid; and (3) spray paints (Figure 4).5,6 These were also generally the most commonly used types of inhalants among those with each type of the selected respiratory conditions (data not shown).
Inhalant | Percent |
---|---|
Glue, Shoe Polish, or Toluene | 4.7% |
Gasoline or Lighter Fluid | 4.1% |
Spray Paints | 4.0% |
Other Aerosol Spray | 2.7% |
Correction Fluid, Degreaser, or Cleaning Fluid | 2.7% |
Amyl Nitrite, "Poppers," Locker Room Odorizers, or "Rush" | 2.0% |
Lacquer Thinner or Other Paint Solvents | 2.0% |
Lighter Gases, such as Butane or Propane | 1.4% |
Nitrous Oxide or "Whippits" | 1.3% |
Halothane, Ether, or Other Anesthetics | 0.7% |
* Respiratory conditions are asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and sinusitis. Source: 2006 to 2008 SAMHSA National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUHs). |
Inhalants are easily accessible, cheap, and easy to hide; they are also addictive and deadly. Death can occur at any use, even the first use. An estimated 44,000 adolescents use inhalants and place their lives and health at risk on any given day. Inhalant use may exacerbate existing medical conditions, such as respiratory conditions. Yet adolescents with respiratory conditions are no less likely to use inhalants than those in the general population.
Continuing efforts are needed to educate parents, teachers, physicians, service providers, and policy makers about the dangers and health risks of inhalant use. All prevention efforts directed to adolescents must balance warning against the dangers of inhalant use with not inadvertently introducing adolescents to available substances that have abuse potential.
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is an annual survey sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The 2006 to 2008 data used in this report are based on information obtained from 67,850 persons aged 12 to 17. The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of the population through face-to-face interviews at their place of residence. The NSDUH Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS), SAMHSA, and by RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. (RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute.) Information on the most recent NSDUH is available in the following publication: Office of Applied Studies. (2009). Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National findings (DHHS Publication No. SMA 09-4434, NSDUH Series H-36). Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Also available online: http://oas.samhsa.gov. |
The NSDUH Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of this report or other reports from the Office of Applied Studies are available online: http://oas.samhsa.gov. Citation of the source is appreciated. For questions about this report, please e-mail: shortreports@samhsa.hhs.gov.
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This page was last updated on September 29, 2009. |