Ban harmful paints
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
It is a major concern in the country that teens are using illegal drugs like paint fumes on a daily basis these days. Inhalants like paint fumes are the substances that are used to achieve a variety of different psychoactive effects.
Paint fumes pollute the environment also. Inhalant abuse includes a wide range of household products that can be purchased by almost anyone, such as aerosols, solvents, cleaners, pain relievers, and paints.
The most concerning of these is Huffing Paint. The vast majority of people who continue to use inhalants like paint fumes are under the age of eighteen, which is particularly concerning. The “huffing” process typically entails placing the substance (e.g., paint) in a container, such as a bag, and then rapidly breathing in the fumes to achieve the psychoactive effects.
Because these psychoactive effects are frequently fleeting, people will continue to “huff” the fumes in order to prolong the effects. According to the studies, younger people are more likely to inhale products like paint fumes and paint thinner, while older people are more likely to inhale products containing nitrous oxide.
According to studies, huffing has a variety of effects on the body. Individuals with a history of sniffing paint fumes performed significantly worse on measures of motor speed, set shifting, attention, and memory, according to the findings.
The results also showed that huffing/sniffing paint fumes for a longer period of time (i.e., those with a long-term abuse problem) was associated with more severe impairments on these measures. This implies that individuals had significant changes in their brains as a result of this substance.
According to studies, individuals who have chronically inhaled substances such as paint fumes and paint thinners have brain damage in a number of areas. Because the effects of sniffing paint fade quickly, some people begin to “huff” repeatedly for long periods of time in order to prolong the psychoactive effects. This is a potentially hazardous practise.
Some people who are otherwise healthy but sniff paint and other inhalants for long periods of time can develop a syndrome known as sudden sniffing death syndrome. This can happen even to people who do not regularly use inhalants. Death is usually caused by an overdose of the chemicals in paint fumes, which causes cardiac failure.
Individuals who huff on a regular basis are at risk of developing a formal substance use disorder. Individuals develop tolerance to inhalants, cravings for them, and may develop a formal withdrawal syndrome as a result of continued misuse of inhalants such as paint fumes, so our centre regime should ban paints that emit harmful fumes.
Vijaykumar H K (Environmentalist), Raichur, Karnataka
KV News
