Inhalants

1
Inhalants

• Psychology 3506

2
Introduction

• OK, now this is depressing.
• Solvents, paints, nail polish remover, gasoline,
  lighter fluid
• Late 50s the media and cops picked up on glue
  sniffing, which seemed to have increased the
  amount of glue sniffed.
• Same with aerosols in the 1970s
• Now it is gasoline

3
Administration

• Sniffing
• Huffing
• Swallowing
• Cloth can make sure you get fresh air
• Bag concentrates it
• From aerosol can too

4
Absorption, Distribution and Excretion

• Absorbed into lungs
• Passed quickly to brain
• Concentration in blood approaches concentration
  in air
• Fatty tissue get the most (due to high lipid
  solubility)
• Brain
• liver

5
Absorption, Distribution and Excretion

• Concentrations also drop quickly
• Through the lungs
• More blood flow, faster reduction
• Toluene for example is metabolized in the liver
  though, most not exhaled
• Liver creates metabolites that may be toxic

6
Neurophysiology

• Effects seem similar to alcohol and tranquilizers
• Enhance GABA
• Enhance glycine
• Attenuate NMDA receptor for glutamate
• Seems to affect DA in mesolimbic dopamine system,
  but how, we dunno

7
Behavioural Effects

• Like alcohol
• Hallucinations
• Seizures
• Stupor
• Death
• Probably impairs driving

8
Effects, continued

• Tolerance, maybe
• Withdrawal, maybe
• Psychotic behaviour
• Cancer
• Kidney damage
• FSS?
• OD

9
Prevention and Treatment

• Nasty additives
• Education
• Treatment is really tough
• They have lots of other problems usually
• May take many attempts