(May 01, 2008)  More activities that are fun may be key to keeping teens from experimenting with something dangerous, according to one local teen.

Madison Hayes, 18, said there are multiple reasons kids may try something like “huffing,” or inhaling chemical fumes.

“Muskogee is a small town; there’s not a lot kids can do,” she said. “Some of them just drink and smoke pot. They get to do the bragging, and they get to talk about their weekend. I think that more activities would be a positive thing to do.”

Hayes said she knows one person who tried huffing and then regretted it.

“One source told me he tried it because he thought he would just get high, but it turned out to be one of the scariest things he’s ever done,” she said. “He said it was crazy and dumb, and the aftermath was so awful that he would never do it again.

“I don’t think he knew about the danger at the time, or he would not have done it.”

Whether information about the danger of huffing comes from adults or peers may not matter, Hayes said.

“You never know what person is going to react to what information,” she said.

Huffing may have slipped underneath the radar.

Inhaling fumes is now as popular as smoking marijuana, according to Valerie Grober, a pharmacist for Wagoner Community Hospital.

“Abuse of inhalants by middle school children has increased up to 44 percent over a two-year period,” she said. “The products used in huffing are readily available and for sale legally.”

By the eighth grade, nearly one in five kids has abused inhalants. More than 1,000 products can be abused.

Even worse, inhaling fumes carries with it the possibility of instant death.

“It’s like playing Russian roulette,” Grober said. “Anytime someone uses an inhalant, it can be fatal.”

Some dangerous chemicals abused by huffers include air conditioning refrigerant, hair spray, nail polish, felt tip markers, spray paint, air freshener, butane, cooking spray and even the canned “air” used to clean computers.

“Part of the allure is that it works very quickly because it goes to the brain,” Grober said. “In addition to heart failure, long-term use damages the kidneys and liver. Users can also suffer from memory and hearing loss and even permanent brain damage.

“As children grow up, parents have to remain involved,” she said. “Many children think huffing is fun and are totally unaware of the very real dangers involved. ... Set a pattern of talking with and listening to your child from the time they are young.”

Source: Muskogee Phoenix
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_122223411.html