New NSDUH Report: Inhalant Use Across the Adolescent Years

Inhalant use, the deliberate inhalation of volatile substances to induce a psychoactive or mind-altering effect, tends to occur among younger teens and can be highly toxic and even lethal. The 2006 Monitoring the Future study indicates that more 8th graders have tried inhalants in their lifetime than any other illicit drug.

The following are brief findings found in the report:

			Inhalants were the most frequently reported class of illicit drugs used in the past year among adolescents aged 12 or 13 (3.4 and 4.8 percent, respectively).
			Combined data for 2002 to 2006 indicated that an annual average of 593,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 had used inhalants for the first time in the year before their survey interview.
			Among past year inhalant initiates aged 12 to 15, the three most commonly used types of inhalants were glue, shoe polish, or toluene; spray paints; and gasoline or lighter fluid; in comparison, nitrous oxide or whippets were the most common type of inhalant used among past year inhalant initiates aged 16 or 17.

Download NSDUH Report:

Inhalant Use Across the Adolescent Years  (229 KB)