The first drug most kids try
Before weed, before pills, before anything illegal — there are inhalants. Whipped cream chargers in the kitchen drawer. Keyboard duster under the desk. Glue in the craft box. They cost pocket money, require no ID, no dealer, and no paraphernalia anyone would recognize.
That accessibility is exactly the danger. Inhalant use peaks at age 14–15 — younger than any other drug class.
The three families
| Type | Examples | What it does | Signature harm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrous | Whippets, Galaxy Gas, balloons | 30–60s euphoria | Destroys vitamin B12 → nerve damage, 'drop foot' |
| Aerosols/dusters | Air duster, Freon, deodorant | 10–30s dissociation | Sudden Sniffing Death — heart stops on first use |
| Solvents/glue | Model glue, thinners, petrol | 10–15 min euphoria | Permanent brain damage, oral cancer pathway |
Sudden Sniffing Death
Duster gases (difluoroethane) and butane sensitize the heart to adrenaline. A user who gets startled, chased, or even just stands up fast can trigger instant fatal cardiac arrhythmia. It has killed first-time users with a single can. There is no warning, no gradual overdose, and naloxone does nothing — it's a heart-stopping event, and CPR rarely saves it.
The nitrous wave nobody is watching
Galaxy Gas — flavored, pastel, 640-gram canisters — has turned whippets from a niche rave relic into a teen social media trend. The harm is quiet and progressive:
- - Nitrous chemically inactivates vitamin B12, which your nerves need to work
- - Heavy users develop numb feet and hands, then wobbly walking, then an inability to walk at all ('drop foot')
- - Catch it early, quit, and B12 injections can reverse it. Keep using, and nerve damage can be permanent
- - Teens are presenting to neurology clinics unable to walk — and doctors initially search for MS or tumors before asking about whippets
What parents should look for
- Small silver canisters (not CO2 cartridges — 8g nitrous chargers), balloons lying around, or large catering canisters in a teenager's room
- The 'cracker' dispenser tools sold online
- B12-deficiency symptoms in a healthy teen: tingling hands, leg weakness, unsteady walking — take it seriously and ask the question
Solvents: the permanent price
Chronic glue/petrol sniffing dissolves the brain's white matter (myelin). The result is a dementia-like syndrome — tremor, unsteady gait, slurred speech — in teenagers, sometimes irreversible. The tell-tale 'huffer's rash' (red rash around the mouth and nose) is an obvious sign.
If someone collapses while inhaling
- 1. Call emergency services immediately — say 'collapsed, possible inhalant'
- 2. Remove them from the gas source; fresh air
- 3. If not breathing: start CPR and continue until help arrives
- 4. Do not give anything by mouth; if they vomit, roll them on their side
- 5. A victim of sudden sniffing death can sometimes be revived with immediate, continuous CPR and a defibrillator — minutes matter
The gas station and kitchen drawer are the real supply chain. Every product in this family has a full harm-reduction profile below.