National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week: March 15 - 21, 2009

One in five students in America has used an inhalant to get high by the time he or she reaches the eighth grade.

From the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition - Parents don't know that inhalants, cheap, legal and accessible products, are as popular among middle school students as marijuana. Even fewer know the deadly effects the poisons in these products have on the brain and body when they are inhaled or "huffed." It's like playing Russian Roulette. The user can die the 1st, 10th or 100th time a product is misused as an inhalant.

Prevention through education has proven to work against this popular form of substance abuse. This is why the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition has developed National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week (NIPAW), an annual media-based, community-level program that takes place the third week in March. NIPAW is designed to increase understanding about the use and risks of inhalant involvement.

To learn more about NIPAW click here.

To learn more about inhalants and access other valuable resources visit Parents. The Anti-Drug , The Partnership for A Drug-Free America, or SAMHSA's A Family Guide To Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy & Drug Free .