Inhalants: Difference between revisions

Inhalants do not include substances that are breathed in after they have been heated through vaporization or burned. For example, [[poppers|amyl nitrite]] (poppers), [[nitrous oxide]] and [[toluene]] are considered to be inhalants because they are volatile at room temperature and need no other heat source to transform from liquid to gaseous state. [[Tobacco]], [[cannabis]], [[cocaine|crack-cocaine]], or any other [[:category:psychoactive substance|psychoactive substance]] that requires an external heat source is not considered to be a member of the inhalant category of substances, even though once heated the resulting fumes are inhaled into the lungs.

==Medical inhalants==

For a full list of medical inhalational anesthetic agents, see: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_medical_inhalants#Inhalational_anesthetic_agents List of medical inhalants#Inhalational anesthetic agents]

======Food grade cream chargers compared to medical nitrous oxide======

*Medical grade contains 50% nitrous oxide, and 50% oxygen.

*The gas from "cream chargers" contains food grade, not medical grade nitrous oxide. Thus, they can contain a range of impurities, such as industrial grease left over from manufacturing, and tiny particles of steel from the pierced metal. Users can filter them through a piece of cotton, cloth, or clothing to reduce the amount of impurities inhaled.<ref>https://www.dancewizensw.org.au/filtering-nangs</ref><ref>http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/nitrous/nitrous_article2.shtml</ref> Regular cleaning of nitrous dispensing devices can also reduce the harm posed by impurities.<!-- Added to: Inhalants, Nitrous -->

*[https://erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Xenon.shtml Erowid Experience Vaults: Xenon]

======Chloroform======

'''Chloroform''', or '''trichloromethane''', is an organic compound with formula CHCl₃. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid. It is a volatile solvent that was used as a medical anesthetic during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is one of the four chloromethanes and a trihalomethane. It is a powerful anesthetic, euphoriant, anxiolytic and sedative when inhaled or ingested.<ref>{{cite book | veditors=((Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area)) | date=31 January 2012 | chapter=The MAK-Collection for Occupational Health and Safety | title=Chloroform [MAK Value Documentation, 2000] | publisher=Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA | pages=20–58 | url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/3527600418.mb6766e0014 | doi=10.1002/3527600418.mb6766e0014 | isbn=9783527600410}}</ref>

The use of chloroform during surgery expanded rapidly thereafter in Europe. In the 1850s, chloroform was used by the physician John Snow during the birth of Queen Victoria's last two children. In the United States, chloroform began to replace ether as an anesthetic at the beginning of the 20th century; however, it was quickly abandoned in favor of ether upon discovery of its toxicity, especially its tendency to cause fatal cardiac arrhythmia analogous to what is now termed "sudden sniffer's death". Some people used chloroform as a recreational drug or to attempt suicide.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors=((Martin, W.)) | journal=British Medical Journal | title=A Case of Chloroform Poisoning; Recovery | volume=2 | issue=1331 | pages=16–17 | date=3 July 1886 | issn=0007-1447 | doi=10.1136/bmj.2.1331.16-a}}</ref>

*[https://erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Ether.shtml Erowid Experience Vaults: Ether]

Most users tend to be "... adolescents (between the ages of 12 and 17)."{{refn|1=For example, studies on inhalant use in New Zealand showed that "... most of the inhalant abusers are within the 14- to 18-year-old age group"; in the Philippines, the mean age of sniffers was 15; in Korea, a 1992 study showed "86 percent are male and are below the age of 20"; about 3/4 of Singapore inhalant users in a 1987 study were 19 or younger.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>}}

===Types===

Most gasses are compressed into canisters and will absorb heat from the environment upon expansion into the atmosphere from the can. This temperature change can cause serious bodily harm if one does not consider the temperature change that the gas can go through upon inhalation. In addition to the dangers associated with inhaling uncompressed gas, there are dangers of asphyxiation and death because the psychoactive gas that is heavier than air will accumulate in the lungs and prevent oxygen absorption.  

Use of this inhalant can cause sudden death upon inhalation and is not advisable from a harm reduction perspective.  

*[https://erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=31384|A Butane Trip Report]

Propane is a hydrocarbon. It is commonly found in hair spray, and portable propane tanks used for fuel.

;Gas duster

Gas dusters generally contain the halocarbons difluoroethane (DFE) or tetrafluoroethane (TFE). Some gas dusters contain trifluoroethane, but these are very rare. TFE has been used as a human anesthetic and has a similar structure to Halothane. DFE has been linked to multiple cases of sudden cardiac death after inhalation. There are no reported deaths from TFE, however, it can cause arrythmias and possibly sudden death. Beta-blockers prevent TFE-induced arrythmias. It is not known whether beta blockers prevent DFE-induced arrythmias and death.  

*[https://erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=83412|A Keyboard Cleaner Trip Report]

[[File:USMC-07664.jpg|300px|thumbnail|A range of petroleum-based products that can be abused as inhalants.]]

*[https://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=24386| "Addicted to Gasoline"]

Use of this inhalant can cause sudden death upon inhalation and is not advisable from a harm reduction perspective.

*[https://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=88914|A Glue Inhalant Trip Report - "Glue Sniffing Nightmare"]

Use of this inhalant can cause sudden death upon inhalation and is not advisable from a harm reduction perspective.  

A NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) International Chemical Safety Card for R-22 as one example of these chemical refrigerants can be found here:

'''There is no safe way to consume aerosol sprays, or solvents, as sudden death upon inhalation is always a present risk.'''

==Toxicity and harm potential==

It is strongly recommended that one use [[responsible use|harm reduction practices]] when using this class of substances.

Both medical and nonmedical inhalants should be avoided by:

===Addiction potential===

*[[Responsible use]]

==External links==