huffing
About 527,000 people 12 or older reported using inhalants in 2015. The majority of these people were between the ages of 12 and 17.
“Huffing” is the commonly used term for the intentional inhalation of chemical vapors from household products, such as aerosol air fresheners (like Glade), to achieve a psychoactive or intoxicating effect. Medical literature, toxicology reports, and media coverage all use “huffing” to describe this kind of substance abuse.
Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They are inhaled at room temperature through volatilization (in the case of gasoline or acetone) or from a pressurized container (e.g., nitrous oxide or butane), and do not include drugs that are sniffed after burning or heating. For example, amyl nitrite (poppers), nitrous oxide and toluene – a solvent widely used in contact cement, permanent markers, and certain types of glue – are considered inhalants, but smoking tobacco, cannabis, and crack are not, even though these drugs are inhaled as smoke or vapor.
