Abusers turn to gas fumes, roof sealants

LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET—Gasoline fumes from neighborhood pumps and ordinary roofing sealants are now the “drugs” of choice for wayward and hungry youths, according to the National Youth Commission (NYC).

“Young people, who used to inhale rugby, are now using a roofing adhesive sealant as substitute. They also inhale gasoline … Many young people hang out at gasoline stations so they can inhale gas fumes,” NYC Commissioner Earl Saavedra said here during the Benguet leg of a nationwide youth drug abuse prevention caravan.

“There are a lot of instances [when] youths are involved even in drug trafficking. The types of drugs which they use have also evolved.”

Tests suggest that the chemical composition of these products helps ease hunger, a detail which drug prevention experts are now studying as they look for ways to reduce drug abuse cases, according to Undersecretary Edgar Galvante of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).

Saavedra said young people who abuse drugs suffer from depression, family problems and peer pressure based on a 2010 national youth assessment study.

The study looked into the behavior of 5,800 youths, aged between 15 and 30, who work, are out-of-school or have special needs or disabilities.

A study profile showed that 8 percent of its sample population (464 youths) dropped out of school due to a drug habit. The country has 27.8 million youths today.

Saavedra said the youths were also asked to explain why teenagers were drawn to drugs. Seventy-five percent of them (4,350) believed that they used drugs to escape problems.

Galvante said other drug abuse victims still consume methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” and marijuana. He said the rich youths take the designer drug, Ecstasy.

But the DDB has noted the NYC report and believes gasoline and roofing adhesive sealants have become attractive because these share a benzene derivative called toluene, which medical journals describe as an aromatic and toxic hydrocarbon, Galvante said.

Toluene has been known to ease an abuser’s hunger.

He said the DDB has directed solvent manufacturers to add mustard oil in their products. “Mustard oil has a pungent smell. This ingredient will dampen the aromatic smell [of toluene-laced products]… and will discourage the person from sniffing the product,” he said.

The agency has not determined whether the manufacturers have complied with their directive.