CHILDREN ARE “HUFFING” TO GET “HIGH”
“SMARTY” SMOKING
The American child, in an effort to experience something exciting, is inhaling household liquids, and getting “high”. They are inhaling anything that has a strong odor, such as: gasoline, nail polish, cleaning liquids and even bleach.
The dangers from this type of behavior can be devastating. The heart can stop, the lungs can develop chemical burns, the nose and trachea can become infected, any major organ of the body can be injured. Worst of all, there are no laws or means of preventing such behavior.
The liquids are legal and prevalent. They are found in all households. The children only need minutes to inhale a toxic substance and achieve a state of excitement. Here is the article from Reuters:
US Children Turn to Inhaling to Get High: Study
By JoAnne Allen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) Mar 11 – More 12-year-olds in the United States admit to using potentially deadly inhalants to get high than have used marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogens combined, U.S. health officials said on Thursday.
Among this age group, alcohol was the only intoxicating substance used more than inhalants, according to data from 2006-2008 surveys on drug use and health compiled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Sniffing common household products, such as gasoline, nail polish, bleach, paint solvents and cleaning spray is like taking poison and many people do not understand the risks or consequences, the health officials said.
Inhaling vapors to get high, or “huffing,” can cause cardiac arrest. It can lead to brain, heart, liver and kidney damage and can be addictive.
“It’s frustrating because the danger comes from a variety of very common household products that are legal, they’re easy to get, they’re laying around the home and it’s easy for kids to buy them,” Pamela Hyde, of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) said.
“Kids and parents don’t think of these things as dangerous because they were never meant to be used to be intoxicating,” Hyde told a news conference to discuss the data.
About 7 percent of 12-year-olds have used an inhalant to get high, compared with about 5 percent who have taken prescription drugs for nonmedical use, the surveys showed. About 1.4 percent of 12-year-olds have used marijuana and fewer than one percent have used cocaine or hallucinogens.
The rate of inhalant use of that age has remained steady over the past few years, but officials are concerned that young people increasingly do not see abusing inhalants as risky.
“Unfortunately between the years 2001 and 2009, 8th graders’ perception that inhalants are great risk decreased from about 75 percent to about 58 percent,” Dr. Timothy Condon of the National Institute on Drug Abuse said, calling it a dangerous trend. “We know, historically, that when the perception of risk declines we often almost always see an increase in use,” Condon added.
Adults abuse inhalants too, but health officials are targeting youngsters and parents in a new public information campaign because they say children are more vulnerable.
WHAT TO DO?
The probability of this behavior happening in anyone’s household is high. Seven percent means one in fourteen children will attempt this behavior, an unknown number will damage their body or even die.
THIS MUST NOT BE IGNORED
Parents have a moral obligation to bring up the behavior to their children and explain the grave risks so that the child thoroughly understands.
THE CHILD MUST BE WARNED REPETITIVELY!
When the child realizes that the parents are deeply concerned and that his life is in danger, there is a great likelihood that he will not attempt to inhale vapors from dangerous liquids.
WHAT THIS MEANS
This type of behavior indicates that the American society is a sick society that needs violence and danger for enjoyment. When we look at the movies being created by the American Movie Industry, that focus almost entirely on extreme senseless violence and abnormal behavior, we can easily understand why children need something out of the ordinary to satisfy their natural curiosity.
It is time for the parents of American children to make their voices heard in government and to the owners of the media, that they do not want their children exposed to senseless violence and to thrills that are unreal. The parents of American children should make their voices heard economically, by refusing to buy games and toys that serve no purpose other than providing an emotional high through unnatural behavior.
It is quite obvious that the permissive complicity of parents with an industry that makes profits by exciting children, is the fundamental reason why American children are turning to anything that will excite them. The parents and adult society are always the cause of aberrant behavior in children.
Either American parents start assuming responsibility for their children, or they will end up seeing these same children with permanent physical disabilities—or dead!
