Overview
Inhalant use is the intentional inhalation of vapors of different products with the intention of getting high. Inhalants are among the most commonly abused substances among adolescents, in addition to being the most dangerous. This essay provides an overview of the current knowledge of inhalant use. This essay describes the epidemiology of adolescent inhalant use, consequences of inhalants, psychosocial correlates of use, diagnostic challenges, and future directions for research and treatment.
Inhalant use is the intentional inhalation of vapors from commercial products or specific chemical agents for the purpose of achieving intoxication (Weintraub et al. 2000). Inhalant users may inhale vapors from a rag soaked with a substance placed over the mouth or nose, a bag into which a substance has been placed, or directly from a container (Howard and Jenson 1999). Intoxication is rapid in onset and short-lived, although some users repeatedly use inhalants to maintain a preferred...
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Perron, B.E., Howard, M.O., Vaughn, M.G., Bohnert, K.M. (2011). Inhalant Use. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_181
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