Types of Drugs That Are Inhaled
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Inhaling the fumes from certain everyday products is one of the most dangerous ways drugs are taken.
This article will take a closer look at inhalant misuse and its potential effects, and provide more information on how to get help if you or a loved one has lost control of their drug use.
What Are Inhalants?
Inhalants are substances, solvents, and gases that people inhale into their lungs for the purposes of getting high. This is often popular among young people and teens.
The alarming thing about inhalants is that they’re typically completely legal. In fact, they tend to be common household products that can be purchased at any supermarket, like cleaners, butane, or aerosol sprays.
Paint thinner, felt-tip markers, lighter fluid, and even the gas in whipped cream cans can be used to get high if inhaled, although the high may only last a few minutes.
Other inhalants are illicit drugs, particularly nitrites. Some inhalants are smoked or vaporized using specific paraphernalia.
Inhaling can be one of the most damaging and dangerous forms of drug use, due to the extremely harsh chemicals found in these items.
What Are the Most Common Inhalant Drugs?
According to the DEA, there are over 1,000 different products that are very dangerous when inhaled. The most common inhalants include:
- Glue.
- Shoe polish.
- Toluene.
- Nitrous oxide or “whippets.”
- Gasoline.
- Spray paint.
- Lighter fluid.
- Paint thinner.
- Wite-out (correction fluid).
- Spray paint.
- Amyl nitrite or “poppers.”
Nitrites are different from other inhalants. Rather than producing an intoxicating effect, they dilate and relax the blood vessels, which increases sexual pleasure.
Nitrates are most likely to be used by adults, while the other inhalants are more commonly misused by middle and high school students. Around 13% of all 8th graders report having used inhalants to get high at least once.
Effects of Inhalants
Most inhalants produce a depressant effect similar to that of alcohol. Users may experience a feeling of euphoria followed by other short-term effects of intoxication, including:
- Dizziness.
- Slurred speech.
- Impaired coordination.
- Light-headedness.
- Hallucinations or delusions.
- Vomiting and nausea.
- Headache.
Repeated use of inhalants may lead to more severe health issues, due to the fact that the chemicals in inhalants are too toxic and concentrated to be effectively processed.
These long-term effects of inhalant use can include:
- Liver and kidney damage.
- Nerve damage (resulting in permanent loss of coordination and chronic limb spasms).
- Hearing loss.
- Bone marrow damage.
Too much inhaling, especially during the process of “bagging” in which chemicals are put into a paper or plastic bag so they can be breathed in more efficiently, can cut off oxygen flow to the brain, resulting in brain damage.
The most immediate health concern involving inhalants is a phenomenon called “sudden sniffing death.” A completely health person can suffer sudden heart failure and death from a single session of huffing a high concentration of chemicals. Extreme cases of lack of oxygen to the brain can even result in suffocation.
Additionally, inhaling nitrites is associated with a higher rate of unsafe sexual activity and the contraction of HIV.
FAQs About Inhalant Drugs
Substances that are inhaled, whether they are drugs or toxic chemicals, replace at least some of the oxygen in the lungs. This starves the brain and other organs in the body of oxygen. The heart pumps faster in order to bring needed oxygen to all parts of the body. As a result, intoxication from inhaling chemicals like paint thinner or markers can lead to a sensation of being drunk or, in some cases, cause hallucinations or visual distortions. Using any amount of inhalants may cause permanent damage to the brain and body, and even lead to death.
The effect of inhalants is almost instant due to oxygen deprivation. Some inhalants, like marijuana or poppers, may take 5–15 minutes to fully affect the brain. This is because these drugs must be absorbed through the bloodstream and taken to the brain. However, drugs taken into the lungs are rapidly sent into the blood; it is one of the fastest methods of delivery for intoxicating substances. The rapid intoxication and fast elimination are more likely to lead to bingeing or addiction than slower delivery methods.
Vaporizer pens, sometimes called vape pens, e-cigarettes, or vapes, are relatively new devices used to inhale drugs. The drugs, whether nicotine or another substance, are mixed with an oil concentrate, or glycerin and water; an inner coil heats up the vapor, which is inhaled, so the drug gets into the lungs and then the bloodstream. These devices became popular as an allegedly safer method to ingest tobacco products than smoking, and some e-cigs even offered drug-free, flavored oils to help people end their smoking habit.
Since vaping and smoking are different – vaporizers do not burn the oil, but instead create steam – e-cigarettes and other types of vaporizers position the drugs more like inhalant drugs than smoking does. That being said, tobacco and marijuana are not typically considered inhalants. Vaping still introduces intoxicating substances into the lungs, so in actuality, these methods of use are not likely to be “safer” than smoking.
Smoking is believed to release chemicals that can cause cancer, so many people who struggle with marijuana abuse or addiction are beginning to use vaporizers to ingest the drug. Cannabinoids combust at 446 degrees Fahrenheit, but they begin to vaporize and release intoxicating chemicals at just 284 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a vaporizer heats marijuana between these two temperatures to release THC and other cannabinoids without burning the drug.
Marijuana is still an intoxicating and addictive substance, regardless of how it is ingested. It can cause serious side effects, including psychosis in people who have a predisposition to mental health problems.
Poppers are a synthetic club drug in the family of psychoactive drugs called alkyl nitrites. Amyl nitrite is the most common one, although its chemical compound has been made illegal in some states. Amyl nitrite was originally designed to treat heart conditions, and is sometimes still used to treat cyanide poisoning.
Poppers are now more widely used as recreational drugs. They are snorted, and begin to affect the brain within a few seconds to a few minutes. They create a euphoric relaxation and increase social interaction, particularly sexual desire, among most users.
Getting Help for an Addiction to Inhalants
At our inpatient rehab facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, we specialize in the treatment of co-occurring disorders and provide a full range of care, from medical detox and inpatient or residential treatment to sober living and various levels of outpatient services.
To learn more about our high-quality programs, paying for rehab, using insurance to pay for rehab, or how to help a loved one with addiction, call us at 702-848-6223 today. Our admissions navigators are available around the clock to answer any questions and start the admissions process.
Or you can check whether we accept your insurance and verify your benefits by filling out this quick and confidential online form.
Quality, evidence-based treatment can help put you or your loved one on the path to recovery. At Desert Hope, we are here to support and guide you along this life-saving journey.