ID :
34751
Wed, 12/10/2008 - 08:59
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/34751
The shortlink copeid
Glue-sniffing epidemic hits youngsters in HCM City
HCM City (VNA) - Hundreds of teenagers here have become glue-sniffing
addicts.
The habit, which once plagued Western countries, is extremely harmful to
health and can lead to physical and mental dependence.
The most popular form is a light-yellow liquid that gives users a euphoric
feeling after inhalation.
Experts warn the habit can lead inhalants to caner and stress, inhibit
breathing, damage the liver and kidneys, and even kill.
Sitting among five or six adolescents at an internet shop on Huynh Van
Chinh Street in Tan Phu District, 15-year-old Hoang Tung (not his real
name) moves slow and has bleary eyes.
"We are inhaling glue, it is not drugs," he says. "We are not afraid of
being arrested like drug users, but it still makes us euphoric," a girl in
the group adds.
Tung says a senior teenager taught him and some of his friends how to inhale
the stimulant a few months ago. Some users are only nine or 10 years old.
In another case, Nguyen Son (not his real name), who claims to have inhaled
the stimulant for more than a year, says a group of 100 of his friends do
the same.
According to him, it costs between 2,000 VND and 17,000 VND to buy a pipe of
glue, depending on its size. But normally, each pipe will last for only 30
minutes. Users find bigger ones are cheaper, but they usually do not have
enough money to buy.
Many owners and sales persons at groceries in the two districts of Tan Binh
and Tan Phu say they have sold glue to teenagers, sometimes up to 10 pipes
at a time.
One shop-keeper in Au Co Street says he has informed police about the
situation since 2006.
A senior police officer confirms that police know about the situation.
According to him, glues contain a substance that can stimulate the nervous
system. However, he adds that it is impossible to prosecute users because
the stimulant is not narcotic.
Professor Chu Pham Ngoc Son from the Hai Dang Company says two types of glue
his company was recently asked to analyse contained different kinds of
organic solvents.
He says some of the solvents are very harmful to people's health, including
methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, toluene and cyclo-hexane.
When mixed with other solvents widely used in the industrial sector, their
intoxication levels rise.
Professor Nguyen Huu Duc at HCM Cit Medical and Pharmaceutical
University says organic solvents can cause addiction.
Teenagers in many countries, especially in Latin American, have become
addicted to solvents after inhaling them.
Duc says users suffer from delusions or become absent-minded. Feelings of
tiredness, headache, dizziness and sleepiness are also reported.-Enditem
addicts.
The habit, which once plagued Western countries, is extremely harmful to
health and can lead to physical and mental dependence.
The most popular form is a light-yellow liquid that gives users a euphoric
feeling after inhalation.
Experts warn the habit can lead inhalants to caner and stress, inhibit
breathing, damage the liver and kidneys, and even kill.
Sitting among five or six adolescents at an internet shop on Huynh Van
Chinh Street in Tan Phu District, 15-year-old Hoang Tung (not his real
name) moves slow and has bleary eyes.
"We are inhaling glue, it is not drugs," he says. "We are not afraid of
being arrested like drug users, but it still makes us euphoric," a girl in
the group adds.
Tung says a senior teenager taught him and some of his friends how to inhale
the stimulant a few months ago. Some users are only nine or 10 years old.
In another case, Nguyen Son (not his real name), who claims to have inhaled
the stimulant for more than a year, says a group of 100 of his friends do
the same.
According to him, it costs between 2,000 VND and 17,000 VND to buy a pipe of
glue, depending on its size. But normally, each pipe will last for only 30
minutes. Users find bigger ones are cheaper, but they usually do not have
enough money to buy.
Many owners and sales persons at groceries in the two districts of Tan Binh
and Tan Phu say they have sold glue to teenagers, sometimes up to 10 pipes
at a time.
One shop-keeper in Au Co Street says he has informed police about the
situation since 2006.
A senior police officer confirms that police know about the situation.
According to him, glues contain a substance that can stimulate the nervous
system. However, he adds that it is impossible to prosecute users because
the stimulant is not narcotic.
Professor Chu Pham Ngoc Son from the Hai Dang Company says two types of glue
his company was recently asked to analyse contained different kinds of
organic solvents.
He says some of the solvents are very harmful to people's health, including
methylene chloride, ethyl acetate, toluene and cyclo-hexane.
When mixed with other solvents widely used in the industrial sector, their
intoxication levels rise.
Professor Nguyen Huu Duc at HCM Cit Medical and Pharmaceutical
University says organic solvents can cause addiction.
Teenagers in many countries, especially in Latin American, have become
addicted to solvents after inhaling them.
Duc says users suffer from delusions or become absent-minded. Feelings of
tiredness, headache, dizziness and sleepiness are also reported.-Enditem
