National Health and Medical Research Council

Volatile substance use (VSU) refers to the practice of deliberately inhaling substances that are volatile (vaporous) at ambient temperatures for the purpose of intoxication. The volatile substances (also known as inhalants) covered by this guideline are:

Prevalence

The prevalence of VSU is difficult to ascertain because:

• Inhaling volatile substances is not an offence and therefore not likely to be recorded in crime statistics
• VSU is often a hidden activity due to its antisocial nature, making monitoring difficult
• Users under the age of 14 are not covered by national drug surveys

VSU commonly occurs in young people in poor and marginalised groups, often in Indigenous groups. A recent survey found that 2.5% of people aged over 14 years have used inhalants (1). Another study found that 21% of a sample of Australian school students aged 12-17 years reported ever using inhalants (2).

The type of volatile substances used throughout Australia differ between the states and territories. For example, in remote Indigenous communities the most common form of VSU is petrol sniffing, whereas in urban and rural settings, sniffing of aerosol cans is more prevalent.

Impact

The physical effects of VSU on an individual can range from minor (intoxication, nausea and headaches) to severe (grand mal epilepsy and acquired brain syndrome) (3). The consequences of VSU impact on an individual, but also on families and their communities.

A study undertaken by Access Economics estimated the total cost of petrol sniffing in Central Australia at $78.9 million of which includes the net cost of disease burden, cost to the crime and justice system, productivity loss and costs of health, long-term care and rehabilitation (4).

Current treatment

At the present, many VSU treatment and rehabilitation services are modelled on treatment for other substances such as alcohol. Treatment guidelines need to be specifically developed for VSU, as treatment options for other substances may not be generalisable to VSU. Volatile substance users can often not comply with conventional treatment and prevention efforts. For example, those referred for treatment have often sustained neurological damage, meaning that many strategies in conventional drug treatment may be too cognitively and culturally complex to be useful (5).

Clinical practice guideline for the management of volatile substance use

The Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH) in the Department of Health and Ageing has commissioned the NHMRC to produce a systematically developed clinical practice guideline for the management of volatile substance use.

• View the Volatile Substance Use Guideline

References

1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. 2004 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: Detailed Findings. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; 2005.
2. White V, Hayman J. Australian Secondary Students Use of Over-the-Counter and Illicit Substances in 2002. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing; 2004.
3. Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council. Petrol Sniffing and Other Solvents. A Resource Kit for Aboriginal Communities. Adelaide: Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care Department of Human Services South Australia; 2000.
4. Access Economics Pty Ltd. Opal Cost Benefit Analysis. Canberra: Access Economics; 2006.
5. d'Abbs P, MacLean S. Petrol sniffing in Aboriginal communities: a review of interventions. Casuarina, NT: The Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health; 2000.