How common is inhalant abuse?
A. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 1.1 million adolescents age 12 to 17 abused inhalants in the past 12 months, roughly half of them for the first time. A survey conducted by the group Monitoring the Future and funded by the National Institutes of Health shows that inhalant abuse has remained steady over the past five years — roughly one out of six 8th-graders has abused inhalants at least once. Q. How young are the children who abuse inhalants? A. Inhalants were the most frequently reported class of drugs used illegally during the past year by 12-year-olds (3.4%) and 13-year-olds (4.8%).The peak age of abuse in the U.S. is 14 to 15 years. The 2004 NSDUH revealed no difference in male to female inhalant use in the 12- to 17-year-old age group. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), glue, spray paints, shoe polish, gasoline, and lighter fluid were most commonly first abused by 12- to 15-year-olds. “Whippets” — nitrous oxid
