Young People Ask . . .

Glue Sniffing​—Can It Really Hurt Me?

“IT’S great​—just like watching cartoons.” So says Sveta, a 13-​year-​old girl from Moscow, Russia.a But Sveta is not raving about the latest film or video. She is describing her experience with a form of drug abuse that is popular among thousands of youths the world over​—glue sniffing.

Glue is just one of many substances that some youths are sniffing, though. In Britain, for example, air fresheners, lighter fuel, and “20 to 30 other common household products . . . are being abused,” according to Young People Now magazine. This includes “pain relief sprays, furniture polishes, and puncture repair outfits.” Why, some youths even sniff fire-​extinguisher fumes! It is therefore more accurate to call this noxious but popular habit “solvent abuse” or “volatile substance abuse,” as do some experts.

Whether they are abusing glue or furniture polish, sniffers seek the same results. According to one source, they want “to get a ‘high’ or ‘buzz’ similar to the intoxication produced by alcohol.” Solvents are cheap and more accessible than harder drugs such as cocaine. Britain’s New Scientist magazine thus reported: “Solvents are once more the drug of the poor, young and dispossessed: the street children of Guatemala and inhabitants of reservations in North America, as well as young people in hostels and night shelters in Britain.” Some authorities believe that in Britain, 1 in 10 teenage girls and boys has sniffed solvents. And the effects are anything but harmless.

The booklet Drug Misuse explains that “inhaled solvent vapours are absorbed through the lungs and rapidly reach the brain.” Solvents affect the central nervous system, and like alcohol, they can produce a temporary sense of euphoria. In some users, they even produce a variety of short-​lived hallucinations​—and not all are as pleasant as those described by Sveta at the outset. “I saw lots of rats,” says a youth named David who sniffed glue at age 14. “There were thousands of them​—small ones coming out of bigger ones. I thought they were eating my friend.” A Japanese youth named Kazuhiko, who began sniffing glue at age 17, recalls: “I saw the ground cracking apart and beasts attacking me.”

Why, then, is solvent sniffing so appealing to some youths? Lee, who started sniffing glue when he was 13, says: “Basically, the reason people do it is to try to escape from reality.” Yes, for some youths, getting high on solvents is a way to forget troubles. Others crave the excitement; they think a frightening hallucination is like an entertaining horror film. “Other reasons,” says Ireland’s Department of Health, “include curiosity, response to peer group pressure, attempts to gain status, to compensate for low self-​esteem and feelings of inadequacy.”

Sudden Death

Whatever its appeal, solvent sniffing is a deadly practice! It caused 149 fatalities in Britain in 1990, and it sometimes kills in a matter of only minutes. “Sudden sniffing death” it is called. Rachel, for example, used to pour typewriter correction fluid onto her sleeve and sniff it in school. One day she sniffed it while traveling on a bus. She got off the bus and fell down. She got up for a moment and collapsed again​—dead! Rachel was 15.

Particularly frightening is the fact that solvents can kill you the very first time that you abuse them! Re-​Solv, a British charity set up to fight solvent abuse, reports that “18% of all solvent abuse deaths between 1971 and 1989 were first time ‘sniffers.’” The youngest one to die was only nine years old. Like alcohol abuse, solvent abuse can be said to bite ‘just like a serpent and to secrete poison just like a viper.’​—Proverbs 23:32.

Sniffers can also die as a result of accidents that occur while they are under the influence of solvents. Some have fallen off buildings or drowned. Others have become unconscious and choked on their own vomit. Some have even died as a result of sniffing with a plastic bag over their heads; they became too intoxicated to remove the bag, and they suffocated. Yet others have burned to death when the solvents caught fire.

Body Pollution and Other Dangers

Although such drastic consequences are not experienced by all, one expert writes: “The regular abuser knows that he is ‘polluting’ his system and he experiences chest pain, loss of balance, headache, loss of memory and a multitude of other symptoms to which he has rarely admitted.” Recalls Lee (quoted earlier): “I got the worst headache I’ve ever had in my life.” The organization Re-​Solv says that sniffing solvents can also damage the kidneys and liver, can bring mental impairment, and can cause depression.

Then there are the moral dangers. Some sniffers have become thieves to support their habit. Or consider what was reported in Japan’s Daily Yomiuri: “One of the three youths indicted for the murder of a teenage girl [said] that he felt no sense of guilt while killing the girl because he was under the influence of [solvents] at the time.”

Finally, solvent abuse can result in emotional dependency on solvents​—addiction. “Some 10% of those who abused solvents became chronic sniffers,” says Scotland’s Glasgow Herald. This can only hinder one’s emotional and spiritual growth. Consider the Bible’s words at 1 Corinthians 14:20: “Do not become young children in powers of understanding, but . . . become full-​grown in powers of understanding.” How does one grow up in this regard? The Bible explains at Hebrews 5:14: “Solid food belongs to mature people, to those who through use have their perceptive powers trained to distinguish both right and wrong.” The addict fails to develop his perceptive powers. Instead of facing problems, he tries to escape them by going into a drug-​induced stupor. The magazine Young People Now said that chronic sniffers are “trapped as teenagers​—unable to move into adulthood.”

Don’t Try It!

You may know some peers who have tried solvent sniffing, and it is only natural to be curious. But the Bible says: “Let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in God’s fear.” (2 Corinthians 7:1) Why experiment with something that contaminates your body or that causes you to lose control of your mind, even temporarily? The counsel of God’s Word is for us to “keep our senses.” (1 Thessalonians 5:6) This phrase literally means “may we be sober.” Rather than polluting his precious thinking abilities, a Christian wisely safeguards them.​—Proverbs 2:11; 5:2.

Kazuhiko says: “I regret that I ever started the habit.” Lee agrees, saying: “It’s crazy. It is a very, very dangerous thing to do.” Spare yourself a lot of pain and sorrow, and don’t try solvent sniffing in the first place. Act as the Bible says: “Shrewd is the one that has seen the calamity and proceeds to conceal himself, but the inexperienced have passed along and must suffer the penalty.”​—Proverbs 22:3.

Applying this advice may not be easy, though. “Peer group pressure” is said to be one of the most common reasons youths get ensnared in solvent abuse. “My brother got me interested in sniffing glue,” says young David. “My friends introduced me to it,” adds Kazuhiko. Yes, as 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “bad associations spoil useful habits.” Why let peers ruin your life? Jehovah God, our heavenly Father, exhorts: “My son, if sinners try to seduce you, do not consent.”​—Proverbs 1:10.

Wisely, let your parents know if others are pressuring you to use drugs. They can help reinforce your resolve to say no. On the other hand, perhaps you are tempted to try solvent sniffing because you feel pressured or overwhelmed by problems. A far better relief for stress is to talk over your problems with your parents or some other mature, empathetic adult. You need guidance, not a drug-​induced escape. You can also take advantage of the provision of prayer to help you cope. “Trust in [God] at all times,” says the psalmist. “Before him pour out your heart.”​—Psalm 62:8.

Solvent sniffing may seem exciting, but it will not solve your problems. Indeed, it can ruin your life. Be smart. Don’t ever try it.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 13]

Do not allow peer pressure to lure you into a deadly practice