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Solvents, glues, gases, aerosols

solvents

Category: Depressant

What it looks like and how it's taken: Butane gas cigarette lighter refills, disposable cigarette lighters, aerosol sprays (hairsprays, air fresheners), whipped cream cans and glue tins or tubes. Sniffed or breathed in through a cloth or sleeve. It has been known for Gas to be squirted straight into the back of the throat.

Immediate effects: Similar to being very drunk. Users feel dizzy, giggly and light-headed. Some hallucinate. Effects last from a few minutes to 30 minutes.

Risks:

  • Short term: Hangover for a day or two. Nausea, vomiting, blackouts, bad cough, spots/sores around mouth, persistent cold and heart problems. Inhaling with a plastic bag can cause suffocation. It is extremely dangerous to squirt gas into the mouth as this can cause sudden death. Sometimes people's hearts stop beating if they have been sniffing solvents.
  • Long term: Damage to brain, liver, kidneys, nervous system, lungs and reproductive organs.

Legal status: It is illegal for retailers to sell butane gas refills to anyone under 18. Also illegal for solvents to be supplied to people of any age in the knowledge that they are to be abused.

Associated paraphernalia: plastic bag.

Associated paraphernalia

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