Volatile solvent abuse toluene

Volatile solvent abuse or glue sniffing, is common among teenagers, especially males. The success of the modem chemical industry provides easy access to these substances as adhesives, dry cleaners, air fresheners, deodorants, aerosols and other products. Various techniques of administration are employed viscous products may be inhaled from a plastic bag, liquids from a handkerchief or plastic bottle. The immediate euphoriant and excitatory effects are replaced by confusion, hallucinations and delusions as the dose is increased. Chronic abusers, notably of toluene, develop peripheral neuropathy, cerebellar disease and dementia damage to the kidney, liver, heart and limgs also occurs with solvents. Over 50% of deaths from the practice follow cardiac arrhythmia, probably caused by sensitisation of the myocardium to catecholamines and by vagal inhibition... 

In the UK 3.5-10% of children under 13 years have abused volatile substances, and 0.5-1% are long-term users (3). In 1980 24 cases of solvent abuse were reported in Singapore, but by 1984 the number had increased to 763 and from 1987-91, 1781 glue sniffers were identified. In 2004, it was reported that street children in India were abusing typewriter eraser fluid, which contains toluene. In low-income families in Sao Paulo, Brazil, 24% of children had inhaled a volatile substance at some time and 4.9% had inhaled within the last month. 

Figure 1.1 Inhalants are the fourth most popular drug of abuse among high-school students. In 2000, more than 2 million Americans aged 12 to 17 had used inhalants at least once in their lifetime. In this graph, the inhalants are grouped by type. Volatile solvents were the most popular type of inhalant used, with 3.9% of individuals inhaling glue, shoe polish, or toluene.

The abuse of a wide range of volatile chemicals (often called inhalants) that may be inhaled accidentally or intentionally is a worldwide problem, particularly in the adolescent population. There are more than 1000 ordinary relatively inexpensive household products that may be abused via inhalation. VOCs such as toluene, chloroform, butane, propane and acetone are present in many commercial products (solvents, contact adhesives, correction fluid,... 

Industrial solvents Solvents and a wide range of volatile compounds are present in commercial products such as gasoline, paint thinners, aerosol propellants, glues, rubber cements, and shoe polish. Because of their ready availability, these substances are most frequently abused by children in early adolescence. Active ingredients that have been identified include benzene, hexane, methylethylketone, toluene, and trichloroethylene. Many of these are toxic to the Uver, kidneys, lungs, bone marrow, and peripheral nerves and cause brain damage in animals. 

Generally, GC is a very suitable technique for the analysis of these volatile substances and the definitive proof of exposure to them is their detection in biological fluids and tissues. All the commonly abused solvents can be detected in the headspace from 200 pi of blood. Toluene could be detected by MS in the breath of known glue sniffers up to 4 days after the last episode. GC and GC-MS were used to determine toluene in various tissues and blood in a... 

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