What is Huffing?

Parents of addicts have an awful time trying to understand their children and the drugs they do. Not so long ago, they barely needed two hands to count the drugs on the street: marijuana, heroin, cocaine, quaaludes, and only a few others. Nowadays, there are dozens more, and addicts don’t have to go to the street to get many of them. Rather than snorting or smoking, addicts are “huffing” (inhaling toxic fumes). They’re huffing solvents and inhalants, many of which are available right in our homes. Parents of addicts ought to keep an eye on these materials, which contain chemicals that may be used in huffing:

Solvents - huffing might involve things we often keep in our garage: petroleum in gasoline and kerosine, toluene in paint thinner and glue, and acetone in nail polish remover.
Aerosol - the chlorofluorocarbons found in spray paint, cooking spray, and hair spray, and the nitrous oxide in whipped cream canisters and computer dusters, are subject to huffing. The act of huffing whipped cream is also called “whippits.”
“Poppers” - the popularity of huffing amyl nitrate, aka “poppers,” has declined in recent years, but they may still be bought in some stores or found in commercial cleaning products.

Huffing can involve a variety of different substances, and this list is by no means a comprehensive account of them. When it comes to addiction, huffing presents a number of problems. Most of the substances that huffing involves are perfectly legal because they’re not supposed to be huffed. This makes them easy to obtain, and because it can’t be detected in urinalysis, huffing is especially appealing to addicts who are getting drug tested. Desperate to get high, addicts resort to huffing rather than getting sober. Huffing is mostly mildly addictive, but its health effects can be devastating. It can cause permanent throat, lung and brain damage because huffing deprives the body of oxygen. In addition, it may lead to pneumonia or cardiac arrest, among other conditions.

If you or someone you know struggles with huffing or any other substance abuse, get help by calling 877-968-6682 today!