The Invisible Threat

1. INHALANTS The Invisible Threat What SDFSCA Coordinators Need to Know Sharyl Adams Chesterfield County Youth Planning and Development Mary Lib Morgan Chesterfield County Public Schools

2. Test Your Awareness 8th grade past 30-day use in Virginia Virginia 2005 Community Youth Survey • Alcohol a. 8% • Cigarettes b. 19% • Marijuana c. 9% • Inhalants d. 6%

3. VA Compared to National Past 30-day Use 2005 VA Community Youth Survey 2005 Monitoring the Future Survey

4. Increased Risk Youth who had used an inhalant in the past year were: • 3 times more likely to have used marijuana • 7 times more likely to have used hallucinogens • 8 times more likely to have used cocaine • 2 times more likely to have used heroin • 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

5. What Is Inhalant Abuse? • Inhalant abuse is the deliberate concentration and breathing of fumes, vapors or gases to get high.

6. Available Cheap Legal Perception of safety Quick acting Short-lived effects Easy to use Easy to conceal Hard to detect Social activity Why Inhalants?

7. Dizziness Lightheaded Giddiness Impaired coordination Slurred speech Headache Distorts senses Disoriented Excitability Unpredictability Headache Nausea Rapid pulse Immediate Effects of Inhalants

8. Methods of Inhalant Abuse • Huffing • Sniffing • Bagging • Ballooning

9. Techniques of Use

10. Internet Examples • Dusting • Huffing • AXE body spray

11. Immediate Dangers from Abuse • Passing out • Burns • Frostbite • Injuries • Death

12. Long-term Effects • Memory loss • Impaired vision • Hearing loss • Coordination deficits • Slurred speech • Reduced lung function • Muscle weakness • Bone marrow damage • Depression • Dementia

13. Potential Causes of Death • Suffocation • Asphyxiation • Aspiration (choking on vomit) • Choking on small plastic bags accidentally inhaled • Fire or explosion • Fatal injury while under the influence • Sudden Sniffing Death

14. Sudden Sniffing Death Adrenaline increase Cardiac arrhythmia

15. What to Do If You Find a Student Huffing • Remain calm and keep the student calm. • Remove any source of chemicals from around the nose or mouth. • If student is unconscious, call 911. Turn on side to prevent aspiration of vomit. • If not breathing, administer CPR. • Do not leave the student alone. • Contact the administrator in charge and the school nurse. • Ventilate the area. • Check area for products and paraphernalia and save. • Contact poison center.

16. Signs of Use • Products and/or Paraphernalia • Plastic bags with paint or chemical stains or smell • Large quantities of products • Empty product containers • Rags, clothes, cotton balls with chemical odor • Aerosols with loose tops

17. Signs of Use • Physical Symptoms • Disorientation or giddiness • Excitability or volatility • Paint or chemical stains on face or hands • Chemical odor on breath or clothing • Red, pimply rash around nose or mouth • Slurred speech • Sore tongue • Increase in quantity and intensity of headaches

18. Special Areas of Concern in School Setting • Bathrooms • Locker rooms • Kitchens • Technology education classrooms • Art classroom • Science labs • Custodial closets • School grounds

19. Guidelines for Selecting Materials • Don’t use materials that • Talk about “high” or “head rush” • Identify specific products • Show how products are misused • DO use materials that • Use appropriate vocabulary – poisons, body pollutants, fire hazards • Stress using products as intended

20. Example of What to Avoid • “Huffing: The Latest Facts About Inhalant Abuse” • Product Awards Video Librarian 3.5 stars out of 4 stars • American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children's Video • List Grades: 5 - 9

21. School System Policy • Inhalants included in drug policy? • Language consistent with language about other substances of abuse?

22. Teaching Kids About Inhalants

23. Primary Goals of Student Curriculum • To teach • potential dangers of inhalable products • importance of using products safely • structures and functions of brain • impact of brain health on body functions • adverse effects of inhalants on brain and body

24. Targeted Approaches • Naïve vs. Knowledgeable • K-5 • Naïve • Inhalants taught in context of poisons, fire hazards and body pollution

25. Targeted Approaches • Grades 6-8 • Some naïve, some knowledgeable. Explore what they already know. • You may be connecting inhalants with substance abuse here • Substitute “experiencing toxic effects” for “getting high” • Emphasize poisons’ rapid, unfiltered path to brain • Strengthen refusal skills

26. Possible Units of Study • Poisons • Fire safety • Environment • Personal health and safety • First aid • Brain science • Decision making and problem solving • Substance abuse prevention

27. Consistency Counts Share the responsibility of teaching about inhalants. Use the same vocabulary. Send the same message. Students can and should hear this message multiple times from multiple people in multiple settings.

28. Sample Interactive Lesson • FAST FACTS™ on the Brain, Oxygen and Toxic Substances Sample lesson - grades 6-8

29. Making the Invisible Visible

30. Virginia Inhalant Abuse PreventionCoalition Marta Szuba, Chair 540-942-6757 szubame@ci.waynesboro.va.us. Next meeting: May 14, 10:30 am American Lung Association of Virginia 9221 Forest Hill Avenue Richmond, VA 23235

31. Additional Resources Interactive Parent Training Module inhalantabusetraining.org National Inhalant Abuse Prevention Coalition www.inhalants.org Alliance for Consumer Education www.inhalant.org

32. Presenter Contact Information Sharyl Adams 804-751-4960 adamss@chesterfield.gov Mary Lib Morgan 804-594-1667 mary_morgan@ccpsnet.net