USA (MNN) — Huffing or chroming – sniffing products like paint, markers, or nail polish for a temporary high – is rising in the United States. According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency, one in five kids use inhalants by the eighth grade.
“It is everywhere. It’s in small town USA. It’s in the big cities. It’s in our high schools and middle schools,” Brandon Bower with The Lighthouse says.
Materials used as inhalants “are easily obtainable. You can find them in most janitors’ closets or under your kitchen sink.”
(Photo courtesy of Clay Banks/Unsplash)
Materials used as inhalants “are easily obtainable. You can find them in most janitors’ closets or under your kitchen sink,” Bower adds.
“That’s why it’s so attractive to younger kids; they can get their hands on it.”
Signs of intoxication are similar to those of alcohol consumption – slurred speech, nausea, confusion, and a lack of balance. While repeated huffing is linked to cognitive difficulties and dementia later in life, one-time use is risky, too.
Inhaling fumes in high concentrations can replace the oxygen available in the lungs.
“People pass out [and] when they wake up, their mental functions are never the same. We had a gentleman in our biblical recovery program [who] pretty much fried his brain because of inhalant use,” Bower says.
“People are dropping dead, so it is a very, very dangerous thing.”
Yet hope remains. “Inhalant use can be treated just like any other addiction with the Word of God. It is just so important to know that God’s Word has the answers to all these things,” Bower says.
Learn more about The Lighthouse and its biblical approach to addiction recovery here.
“In 2024, we had an 83 percent success rate. [That means] 83 percent of those that came to our program graduated,” Bower says.
“Those are just huge numbers, and it’s saying something. It’s saying that God’s Word and people can deal with life’s problems.”
Header image depicts a can of spray paint, which is a common inhalant. (Photo courtesy of Keiron Crasktellanos/Unsplash)
