Abuse of solvents "for kicks". A review of 50 cases

The deliberate inhalation of solvents "for kicks" is becoming more common among children and adolescents in the west of Scotland. 50 consecutive police cases of solvent abuse in Lanarkshire have been reviewed. Investigation of the 42 patients (40 male and 2 female) showed that "sniffing" was a group activity involving many adolescents aged 12-19 years, all of whom had a previous history of solvent abuse. Although some incidents were reported within school hours, 52% of referrals occurred after 6 P.M., with Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays being the commonest days for referrals. Of 4 cases sent to hospital, 2 required admission. A list has been compiled of the agents most frequently used for inhalation purposes and a simple screening procedure based on gas-liquid chromatography developed to detect their solvent components. This has been successfully applied to the detection of solvents in blood-samples from the patients referred.