Deaths from substance abuse on the increase in Northern Ireland

The UK Health Promotion Agency (HPA) says that in Northern Ireland, the number of people dying from solvent abuse has increased against trends in the rest of the UK.

The agency has advised parents and retailers to be more aware of the dangers of solvent abuse or Volatile Substance Abuse (VSA), and says everyday household items such as cigarette lighter refill cans, glue and aerosol sprays like deodorants, hair sprays and air fresheners have the potential to be misused.

Parents and young people need to be aware that sniffing has the very real potential of killing on the first experiment.

According to the agency, across the UK the number of VSA deaths in 2003 fell to 51, the lowest annual total since 1980, however in Northern Ireland deaths rose from one in 2002 to five in 2003.

Victoria Creasy speaking for the agency says that although there is no obvious pattern to the VSA related deaths and figures fluctuate from year to year, since 1971 there have been 82 deaths in Northern Ireland associated with VSA.

Angeline McTier, Northern Ireland project manager at Re-Solv, which deals with solvent abuse, says sniffing was "a hidden issue overshadowed by underage drinking, illegal drugs and smoking.

She also says that experimentation with volatile substances usually starts around the age of 13 or 14 and sometimes even in the pre-teen years, and parents and retailers need to be more aware of the types of everyday household substances that can be lethal and of the warning signs that a young person may be misusing them.

Apparently the HPA has a number of resources which offer support and advice to parents and retailers about VSA.

When the availability of abusable products is taken into account, and the reported number of deaths from this activity, 'sniffing' is an issue society cannot afford to ignore.