Trends in Adolescent Inhalant Use: 2002 to 2007. The NSDUH Report

Preventing and treating inhalant use problems, as well as raising awareness about the dangers of inhalant use, are important ongoing goals of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Monitoring trends in inhalant use is vital to assessing policies intended to reduce inhalant use. This issue of "The NSDUH Report" examines trends in the use, dependence or abuse, and initiation of inhalants among adolescents (i.e., youths aged 12 to 17). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) defines inhalants as "liquids, sprays, and gases that people sniff or inhale to get high or to make them feel good." NSDUH collects data not only about the use of any inhalant, but also about the use of specific types of inhalants. Respondents who used inhalants were asked when they first used them, and responses to this question were used to identify persons who had initiated use in the 12 months before the survey. This report uses data from the 2002 through 2007 NSDUHs. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures., and 3 endnotes, )