VSA News from June

Hello again, and thanks for taking a few moments to have a look at more headlines from around the world featuring volatile substance abuse.

Teens OK after huffing carbon dioxide
KTAK - Riverton, WY, USA They were huffing Dust-Off. That means they were inhaling carbon dioxide from the can of a cleaner used to remove dust from computers...

Police: Man found in mechanic's shop died "huffing" freon
Lufkin Daily News - Lufkin, TX, USA By JESSICA COOLEY A man found dead inside a mechanic shop Monday morning had apparently been inhaling freon, a substance abuse process known as "huffing. ...

Oenpelli tackles petrol sniffing problem
ABC Online - AustraliaShire chief executive, Mark Griffioen, says the community is meeting to decide on a proposed volatile substance abuse management plan that includes the ...

Playing Russian roulette: Officials say inhalant abuse poses ...
Lufkin Daily News - Lufkin, TX, USA By JESSICA COOLEY Earlier this week a Lufkin man found dead with a trash bag over his head apparently after "huffing" Freon became one of 125 ...

Fargo man sentenced for downtown accident
In-Forum - Fargo, ND, USA Ronald Eugene Willis told police he was huffing dust remover before the accident, according to Cass County District Court documents. ...

Girl, 14, dies after sniffing aerosol can
The West Australian - Perth, Western Australia, Australia A Kununurra girl has died in hospital four days after being found unconscious from sniffing aerosol fumes. Kununurra Acting Sen. ...

Aerosol-related deaths uncommon: Police
ABC Online - Australia Police in Western Australia say aerosol sniffing is not common in the Kimberley region, despite the death of a girl from Kununurra on the weekend. ...

Dangers of Huffing
NTV - Kearney, NE, USA Stalker said it's often kids who seek help for huffing. "A lot of them are even 12, not even teens yet or younger when they start this and then they'll move ...

BBFC announces new guidelines
Digital Spy - UK The board has tightened the 12/12A categories with regards to horror and crude sexual references, while solvent abuse has been specified as a classification ...

Burnley man died after sniffing butane gas
Lancashire Telegraph - Blackburn, England, UK But Mr Gorton, 25, of Lyndhurst Road, returned to sniffing butane shortly before his death on February 19. His mother Carol Duckworth told the inquest that ...

GI man faces motor vehicle homicide charges
KHAS-TV - Hastings, NE, USA(6/23/2009) By Anthony Pura - Investigators in Grand Island believe a man may have been "Huffing" when he crashed his truck killing an elderly woman. ...

Midcoast prevention success gains national attention
VillageSoup Belfast - Belfast,ME,USAInhalant abuse in the Midcoast has become a critical issue – according to the 2006 ... Of those teens who die each year from inhalants, 40 percent die...

Lawmaker: Ban 'Whippets' Sales To Minors
KCRA.com - Sacramento, CA, USA The inhalant has shown to cause death from cardiac arrest or asphyxiation and has been tied to Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome, according to a news...

Petrol sniffer's death at home raises alarm
The Australian - Sydney, New South Wales, Australia His parents, Elijah and Daisy, say Alfaus was weak from the effects of petrol sniffing, a habit they believed he had kicked. Others around Gunbalanya ...

One out of every 10 students is a drug addict
The News International - Karachi, Pakistan Over 40000 street children are involved in solvent substance abuse in merely four major cities of the country namely Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and the twin ...

Petrol sniffing: plan to punish roadhouses
ABC Online - Australia The Senate committee report has identified 10 sites in and around the region covered by the Government's petrol sniffing strategy that do not stock Opal ...

New petrol sniffing scare
The West Australian - Perth, Western Australia, Australia He said yesterday his Halls Creek counselling service was called in last month to help deal with an outbreak of sniffing by a group aged nine to 13. ...

Crime Branch holds seminar on World Anti-Narcotics Day
Rising Kashmir - Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India “Consumption of cannabis and volatile substances like correction fluid is alarming which is often found among young school children,” the findings reveal. ...

Burglar next door jailed for 2 years
Cambridge Evening News - Cambridge, England, UK James Earle, defending for Payne, said he had an "unhappy history of care and a fragmented family", adding that he had been involved in solvent abuse from ...

Street urchins sniffing glue
The Daily Star - Dhaka, Bangladesh Rag picker Badsha who is not even a teenager, sniffs glue on the railway lines in Karwan Bazar in the capital while a few other children do the same not far ...

VSA News updates from around the world

Missing freon in Norfolk, Virginia...Dust Off huffing death in California...glue sniffing in Lincolnshire...

Just some of the news items involving volatile substance abuse over the last few weeks. VSA continues to cause suffering across all areas of society around the world.

Thanks for taking a moment to look at some of these stories.

Freon removed from AC units at Va. Beach apartment complex
WVEC.com (subscription) - Norfolk, VA, USA Air conditioning experts say the Freon could have been taken and used for huffing. If you know anything about these cases, call Crime Solvers at ...

Teens Are 'Huffing' to Get High
KYW1060.com - Philadelphia, PA, USA Another major issue is a problem called huffing. This has rapidly become a popular method for teens to get high but there are many dangers, including brain ...

Teen in debt commits suicide
Straits Times - Singapore By Elena Chong & Jessica Lim AN 18-YEAR-OLD school dropout, in debt from sports betting, fell 13 floors to his death after sniffing glue with his friend. ...

Coroner: Cal State students death was due to huffing
Bakersfield Californian - Bakersfield, CA, USA A huffing death at Cal State Bakersfield has revived a publicly dormant issue in Kern County. Coroner officials confirmed Friday that the March 27 death of ...

Driver crashes three times
Gary Post Tribune - Gary, IN, USA Marshall allegedly told police he had been at a home on Evans Avenue where at least six people were huffing dust remover. He denied huffing it himself but ...

Glue sniffing puts play areas out of bounds
Market Rasen Today - Market Rasen, England, UK GLUE sniffing and other drug abuse in Market Rasen is affecting small children is has emerged, by leaving play areas unusable and out of bounds. ...

Petrol sniffing linked to crime in Oenpelli
ABC Online - Australia The Darwin Magistrates Court has heard a culture of petrol sniffing and property crime has grown amongst young people in a remote Northern Territory ...

Volatile substance abuse news from May 2009

Please take a moment to have a look at these recent links to news items featuring volatile substance abuse.

Service station praised for curbing petrol sniffing
ABC Online - Australia The Central Australian Youth Link-Up Service has congratulated a remote service station on its response to petrol sniffing at a nearby Aboriginal community. ...

Review of The Unloved
Communitycare.co.uk - Sutton, UK Life in the children's home is harsh and Morton does not flinch from showing sexual abuse, violence and solvent misuse. Morton admits she was inspired by ...

Whip-its, no laughing matter
Petoskey News-Review - Petoskey, MI, USA “Nitrous oxide is not a safe inhalant when it is not being administered by medical ... “Huffing any of the commonly abused inhalants can cause sudden death. ...

Rapid City Mother Facing Child Abuse Charges
KOTA - Rapid City, SD, USA A Rapid City woman is facing felony child abuse charges for huffing computer cleaner near her three young children. Marcella Dubray was arrested last month ...

North Myrtle Beach man charged with tampering with AC units ...
Myrtle Beach Sun News - Myrtle Beach, SC, USA A 28-year-old man was arrested for tampering with AC units and huffing freon from them days after his roommate reported him missing, according to a North ...

Family Talks Of Teen's Tragic Huffing Death
WSOCtv.com - Charlotte, NC, USA Cooper said Moree later admitted huffing gasoline for a cheap, quick high. She immediately took him to counseling. Two weeks later, he spent the night at ...

Kidnap Suspect Has History Of Huffing
WTVC - Chattanooga, TN, USA We researched Jeremy Mizell's past and learned of his addiction to huffing gasoline. Mizell remains in jail with a one million dollar bond, charged with ...

Warning after Huddersfield man dies sniffing lighter fuel
Huddersfield Examiner - Huddersfield, UK A CORONER has warned of the dangers of inhaling lighter fuel after hearing how butane gas claimed the life of a Huddersfield man. An inquest heard how Adam ...

Cause of woman's death released
Valley Sun - La Cañada Flintridge, CA, USA Cans of compressed gas is often used in inhalant abuse, or huffing. It is the purposeful inhalation of chemical vapors to achieve an altered mental or ...

Cause for concern: Drug, substance abuse catching them younger in city
Expressindia.com - New Delhi, India It's very difficult to quote an exact figure pertaining to the number of total cases, but substance abuse, mostly sniffing correction/white fluid and ...

Jail inmates caught with paint thinner in Eagle County
Vail Daily News - Vail, CO, USA Four inmates confessed to sniffing the paint thinner to get high, police said. The inside of the detention facility was being painted at the time of the ...

Employment opportunities with Re-Solv

Re-Solv – The Society for the Prevention of Solvent and
Volatile Substance Abuse

Re-Solv has the following two employment opportunities available:

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

The post is initially for 2 years

An extension will depend on availability of funding.

Applicants will preferably have relevant strategic management
and demonstrable training delivery. Driving licence essential.

Location : Nottingham
Salary : £19,000 per annum
Closing date : 1st June 2009
Interviews will take place on 11th June 2009

PROJECT COORDINATOR
for Scotland

21 hours per week (hours to be agreed)
The post is initially for 2 years
with a possible 3rd year extension

Applicants will preferably have project management experience
and a knowledge of the substance misuse field in Scotland.

Location : Lothian
Salary : £19,500 per annum pro rata
Closing date : 8th June 2009
Interviews will take place 16th June 2009


For further details regarding either of these posts please send an email to:
office@re-solv.org
or ring 01785 817885

VSA news from around the world

Please see the links below to global VSA news stories from the last two weeks. Petrol sniffing issues in Australia, glue sniffing in Malaysia and VSA influenced crime in the USA - Volatile substance abuse continues to cause untold amounts of grief and suffering. Just have a look at the first story on the list, about a mother in Scotland who lost her son to aerosol abuse...


Mum warns parents of danger after son dies from sniffing aerosol
Glasgow Sunday Mail - UK - A GRIEVING mum whose son died from sniffing an aerosol has warned parents about the killer lurking in their cupboards. Elaine Dorans lost Scott, 22, ...

Isa substance sniffing worries welfare groups
ABC Online - Australia By Penny Timms - Welfare groups are concerned about the number of young people sniffing volatile substances in Mount Isa in north-west Queensland. ...

CAP: Make glue sniffing an offence
New Straits Times - Persekutuan, Malaysia GEORGE TOWN - The Consumers' Association of Penang has called on the government to make glue sniffing an offence. Its president SM Mohamed Idris said this ...

Man Accused Of Beating, Burning Woman And Kids
WBAL TV - Baltimore, MD, USA - There was evidence that he had been huffing gasoline, Melser reported. Sickle and her children were taken to Carroll Hospital Center with ...

Teens ill after sniffing lpg
Otago Daily Times - Dunedin, New Zealand By Glenn Conway on Sat, 25 Apr 2009 - Police in Balclutha say two young people were lucky not to have died after sniffing liquefied petroleum gas (lpg) ...

Robeson County deputies investigate two bodies found over the weekend
South Carolina Now - South Carolina, USA - Branch says he died from huffing butane gas from cigarette lighters. But the death is ruled “accidental.“ On Sunday, investigators responded to a call about ...

Authorities Catch Woman Allegedly Stealing, Huffing
NBC4i.com - Columbus, OH, USA - A city prosecutor says a Gahanna woman accused of stealing cans of gas duster or canned air was huffing while she was shoplifting the items. ...

Teen inhalant abuse prevention urged
Examiner.com - USA - A new study of teen inhalant abuse suggests a need for more prevention and treatment efforts, showing that nearly 1 million youth in the US used some kind ...

Solvent death alert for 'first timers'
Leigh Today - Leigh, England, UK - Anyone thinking about abusing solvents or who knows of any young person who is thinking about or has already abused volatile substances, should ring the ...

Sask. man jailed after third manslaughter conviction
Calgary Herald - AB, Canada - By age nine he was sniffing solvents. Four years later, he had stopped sniffing and started pulling break-ins. He had his first manslaughter conviction at ...

Director puts petrol sniffing centre stage
The West Australian - Perth, Western Australia, Australia - A low-budget film highlighting the effects of petrol sniffing on Aboriginal communities looks set to reach an international audience after getting rave ...

Solvent abuse on the rise in Wigan

01 May 2009

Solvent abuse among Wigan teenagers is rising alarmingly.
And worried substance abuse workers say young people – most of them between 11 and 16 – seem unaware that even first time users are at risk of instant death from inhaling solvents.
Sniffing gases, glues or aerosols kills at least one person every week in the UK, and in Wigan the number of referrals and requests for information about Volatile Substance Abuse (VSA) has risen significantly this month.
Substance abuse workers in the borough are now trying to raise the public's awareness of the potentially lethal practice.
The substances are commonly found in the home and include aerosols containing deodorants, hairspray, air fresheners, gas lighter refills, cleaning fluids, tins or tubes of glue, surgical spirit, certain paints and thinners, dry cleaning fluids and petroleum products.
Due to the ready availability and low cost of these products, young people are a group particularly at risk from the dangers of abusing the substances.
Siobhan Heaton, manager of Wigan Council's Young People's Drug and Alcohol Team (YPDAT) team, said: "Young people need to be aware that there is no safe way of abusing solvents, even first time users are at risk of instant death from using them. There is no safe way to do it."
Death can occur due to heart failure and from choking on vomit, and also due to accidents when high or hallucinating."
It is vital that children and young people understand the serious risks involved with abusing solvents."

By Andrew Cooney on wigantoday.net

In the News - week ending 27th March, 2009

The following news stories about solvent and volatile substance abuse were brought to our attention last week. If you have a story that you would like to report please let me know at information@re-solv.org.


NT petrol sniffing rehab centre under threat ABC Online - Australia ELIZABETH JACKSON: Petrol sniffing and substance abuse has been killing and injuring young people across the Northern Territory for decades. ...

Boy drowns after sniffing glue - police Independent Online - Cape Town, South Africa A 16-year-old boy drowned in a dam near the old Leslie prison in Mpumalanga shortly after allegedly sniffing glue, police said on Thursday. ...

YOUTH FIRST COLUMN: Availability of inhalants makes abuse a problem Henderson Gleaner - Henderson, KY, USA No one knows how many people are dying from inhalant abuse every year, but we know millions use inhalants, particularly young people...

Huffing: Expert Ways in on the Seriousness of its Effects State Journal - Charleston, WV, USA MCMECHEN -- The man known throughout the Ohio Valley as the "Serial Huffer" has apparently done it again. Patrick Tribbett, 44, whose paint-stained face has ...

News items for week ending 20th March, 2009

As part of a new initiative to keep you up to date with all the news stories involving volatile substance abuse (VSA) that come our way, we are introducing a weekly blog entry of condensed stories. These items come from all over and highlight the degree to which VSA remains a serious problem in many communities around the world.

Hampstead woman has long history of 'huffing' Eagle Tribune - North Andover, MA, USA
By James A. Kimble SALEM, NH — A Hampstead, NH, woman arrested in Methuen this week on charges of inhaling compressed air fumes while at a red light has a ...

Officials Push Ban on Sale of Whipped Cream Chargers to Minors Bell Gardens Sun - Los Angeles, CA,USA
Los Angeles students can also expect to start seeing public service announcements on the dangers of “huffing” or inhaling fumes from common household ...

New Australian fuel 'cuts abuse' BBC News - UKA newly developed fuel has successfully reduced petrol-sniffing in Aboriginal communities in Australia's central desert region, a Senate committee said. ...

Senators say new Australian fuel reduces sniffingThe Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A newly developed fuel has almost wiped out gasoline-sniffing among Aborigines in Australia's central desert and should be made ...

Abuse report: Teens sniffing inhalants iTWire - Australia by William Atkins Although a lower percentage of US teens are sniffing, or huffing, inhalants in 2007, the number of teenagers who have abused inhalants has ...

Brothers Accused Of ‘Huffing’ in Parking Lot Wheeling Intelligencer - Wheeling, WV, USA Officers said the mother of the boys, Alicia Huntsman, claimed she came out of the store to find the pair "huffing" from cans of Century Duster, ...

Woman Puts Children in Danger to Huff Paint WTAJ - Altoona, PA, USA BROCKWAY, JEFFERSON COUNTY - A woman has been found guilty of child endangerment for huffing paint. Anjanette Pifer was huffing paint while her two children ...

Parents, Study Finds Inhalant Use Among Teens Down - New York, NY, USA
In 2007, almost 1.0 million adolescents used inhalants in the past year; this represents 3.9 percent of adolescents, which was lower than the rate in 2003, ...

Do you know signs of inhalant abuse? VillageSoup Belfast - ME, USA AUGUSTA (March 18): The key message of National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week, March 15-21: Parents need to know the warning signs of inhalant abuse ...

Belton man looking at fourth charge for huffing paint Anderson Independent Mail - Anderson, SC, USA According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, adolescents and adults do huffing or inhaling various cleaning or painting-related products to get high or ...

Study shows: First drug kids use often found in homes Talk Radio News Service - Washington, DC, USA Today marks the beginning of the 17th annual National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week. The National Inhalant Prevention Coalition (NIPC) held a press ...

Calls to widen program preventing petrol sniffingABC Online - AustraliaHealth officials say petrol sniffing can lead to brain damage, disability and even death. In 2005 the Federal Government began subsidising the low-aromatic ...

He is one of Preston's most notorious criminals – but 'Toxic Terry' is fast developing a cult following.
Terrence Ashcroft is known throughout Preston for drinking petrol and sniffing lighter fluid, as well as accidentally setting himself on fire.

The 36-year-old is homeless and is currently serving a four-month jail term for breaching his ASBO ... yet also has an online fan club with almost 3,000 members.

A group called the Toxic Terry Fan Club has been formed on social networking site Facebook to chronicle his troubled life.

Under his ASBO he was prohibited from having any petroleum or solvents, as well as from making 999 calls other than in an emergency, and from using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.

The site features various pictures of Terry with his 'friends', including some of him recovering in hospital.

It also contains spoof tubs of Toxic Terry Adhesive as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The site's message board has been flooded with stories about him as well as messages of support.

One said: "He'll be happy enough inside until April/May when they let him out."

We'll all miss him but it's probably the best place for him in this weather. He's just as famous in prison though as he is on the streets – as soon as he goes in everyone wants to see the legend in the flesh."

Another reads: "Hope Terry has a good hol – won't be long before he is out enjoying himself again."

But Steve Lambert, director of volatile substance abuse charity Re-Solv, said his problems are a "tragedy" which should not be celebrated.

He said: "I think that rather than looking up to this person they should be saying this is the tragedy of a life destroyed."

The message should be about what solvents can do to you. It is a tragedy, but this is the consequence of volatile substance abuse."

Mr Lambert added that, on average, solvent abuse claims the life of one person every week in the United Kingdom.

In 2004 hundreds of leaflets were distributed in Preston city centre to alert people to the terms of an ASBO which Ashcroft had received.

by Ben Robinson in the Lancashire Evening Post

‘Schoolgirl was inhaling aerosols before she died’

Witness tells trial of Naomi’s last hours

A 14-YEAR-OLD girl who was found dead in a North-east house was inhaling aerosols on the night she died, a court heard today.
A girl witness who cannot be named, told the court how Naomi Thomson was one of three girls who consumed four bottles of alcopops.
She was today giving evidence at the trial in Peterhead Sheriff Court of Amanda Williamson and Christine Stewart who deny allowing Naomi to take part in a booze binge.

The pair are alleged to have allowed three underage girls – including 14-year-old Naomi Thomson – to binge on alcohol.
Naomi, of Saltoun Place, Fraserburgh, was discovered dead in a Fraserburgh house.
It is alleged the youngster was left “moaning” and “gurgling” and without the proper medical care.
Procurator Fiscal Sandy Hutchison asked the girl witness what the three girls including Naomi had been drinking and where they got the alcohol from.
She said that a bottle of WKD had been given to her by Stewart and that Williamson had provided another.
Williamson also gave the girls permission to drink two further bottles of alcopop from her fridge. Mr Hutchison asked the girl if anything else might have affected Naomi.
She replied: “She was inhaling aerosols.”
She said heard she had inhaled them through a towel in a bathroom.
The court earlier heard the schoolgirl said she was paid with alcopops instead of cash for doing a household chore for Williamson.
The girl agreed to help her in exchange for two bottles of blue WKD.
Williamson, of 34 Watermill Road, and Stewart of 2 Marconi Terrace both Fraserburgh, are alleged to have had three teenage girls including Naomi in their care on November 18 and 19, 2006 and allowed them to drink alcohol.
The charge further alleges Stewart, 49, failed to care for Naomi while she was staying at her home and failed to realise the teenager was intoxicated with alcohol and get the necessary medical help.

The trial continues.

By Lynn Kernan in The Evening Express