A report has shown just how lethal the solvent abuse known as huffing can be. More than half of young people who died from abusing solvents were first-time users.
It's cheap, accessible, legal and a potential killer. Butane is common and is often used for huffing.
Paediatrician Nick Baker says only around 2 to 3 percent of New Zealanders aged between 15 and 24 use solvents, but often the results are deadly.
"Solvents are something you should never experiment with, so we have got to get that message out clearly," says Dr Baker.
Between 2002 and 2008, 90 young people died from unintentional poisoning. Gases and volatile liquids, like butane, LPG and propane caused most of those deaths – 31 in total. Alcohol was responsible for 14 poisonings.
Worldwide, there is a spike of unintentional poisoning deaths at the age of 15.
"Youngsters are programmed to take risks. It's part of growing up. If we provide them with an environment that's dangerous, they'll die," says Dr Baker.
He recommends parents make sure they keep communicating with their children.
Last year a report from the chief coroner found huffing killed 63 people in the past 12 years.
Representatives from 67 organisations are in Wellington as part of the National Drug Policy Summit. The two-day conference aims to identify problems and solutions around drugs in New Zealand.
"Government needs to listen. They need to start investing a lot earlier and a lot younger with more resources," says Ross Bell, executive director of the Drug Foundation. "We have under-invested in treatment services for example. We need to correct that."
The Government is currently reviewing its National Drug Policy.
The summit's recommendations will be released tomorrow and then taken to the Government. But the Drug Foundation warns they are unlikely to be quick, easy or cheap solutions.
3 News
source: newshub archive
