Pubdate: Fri, 04 Mar 2005 Source: News Herald (Willoughby, OH) Copyright: 2005 The News-Herald Contact: http://www.news-herald.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/305 Authors: Mark Scott and Tracey Read Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) A MISSED MESSAGE Warning Signs Of Inhalant Abuse Parents have done a great job advising their children about the dangers of abusing alcohol and other drugs, says an official with the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. But when it comes to teen inhalant abuse, the message is not getting delivered, said Stacey Frohnapfel-Hasson, the agency's chief of communication. "Inhalant use has fallen through the cracks," she said Thursday. She cited a Partnership for a Drug-Free America report that indicates the use of inhalants among middle school-age children increased by as much as 44 percent from 2002 to 2004. A youth risk behavior survey coordinated last year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows 4.3 percent of those ages 15 or younger reported having used inhalants within the last 30 days, Frohnapfel-Hasson said. The percentage of use in the last 30 days was 5.3 percent for ninth-graders, according to the study. Eleven percent of all school-age students report having used inhalants at least once in their lives. The figure for lifetime use by ninth-graders was 15.7 percent and 13.2 percent for children age 15 or younger. "The kids don't see the risk of inhalants because the parents haven't even mentioned it," Frohnapfel-Hasson said. "They haven't perceived the risk. As the perception of risk goes up, the level of use will go down." There are between 100 and 125 deaths by inhalants each year, said Harvey Weiss, executive director of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition in Austin, Texas. The Ohio Department of Health does not have specific figures as to the number of deaths statewide attributed to inhalant use, a spokesman said Thursday. "I talk to about 50 parents a year who lose a child," Weiss said, "and every parent I talk to says the same thing: 'You know, I talked to my child about everything I thought they would ever do, but I never thought they would do this.' " Weiss said the typical inhalant overdose victim is a good student from a good family who just made a bad choice. "This is like playing Russian roulette," he said. "Every time you use an inhalant, it can be fatal. A lot of the kids are athletes. Good kids." According to the Web site, www.inhalant.org, 2.1 million kids ages 12 to 17 have used an inhalant to get high. It also states one in five children in the United States has intentionally abused a common household product to get high by the time they reach eighth grade. "Inhalant abuse, also called 'sniffing' and 'huffing,' usually begins at age 10 or 11," according to the Web site. "Children as young as 6, however, begin experimenting with inhalants. No one knows for certain how many lives inhalant abuse claims each year because inhalant abuse deaths often are attributed to other causes." For more information on inhalant abuse, visit www.inhalant.org. For free pamphlets on talking to your child about inhalants, call the coalition at (800) 269-4237. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth