Inhalant Use and Addiction: 13 Types of Inhalants, Their Effects, and Recovery

Inhalants are substances that create a high when inhaled. They usually come in a spray can (like spray paint), but can also be a liquid (like super glue).

Inhalant use doesn’t have a high prevalence, but it’s no less of an issue than drugs that do. It’s especially nefarious because most people experiment with inhalants when they’re young, typically in middle school, and 10-50% of those become addicted.¹ Many of these young adults aren’t aware of the dire consequences of inhalant use, or drug use in general.

It’s an issue that deserves more attention. In this article, we’ll cover what inhalants are, what they do, and the many available treatment options for inhalant addiction.

What Are Inhalants?

In short, inhalants are chemicals and solvents people inhale to get high. These include many household products, all of which people can buy cheaply, easily, and legally—unlike opioids or illicit drugs. Here are a few of the most common types of inhalants:

1. Super glue
2. Felt-tipped markers
3. Paint thinners
4. Nail polish and nail polish remover
5. Gasoline and fuels or aerosols containing butane
6. Lighter fluid
7. Some cleaning fluids
8. Correction fluid, AKA Wite-Out
9. Degreasers
10. Poppers (amyl nitrite, or a similar compound)
11. Hair spray, spray deodorant, air freshener, and other aerosol sprays
12. Whippets (small cans of nitrous oxide vapor used to fluff whipped cream)
13. Propane

Chemically, inhalant substances include volatile solvents like toluene, anesthetics like nitrous oxide, chloroform, and hydrocarbons like natural gas.

People can buy most of the above items at a supermarket. General use of volatile substances (liquids that evaporate at room temperature), like removing nail polish with acetone, won’t result in a high. But purposeful, repeated inhaling of fumes can.¹

To do this, people use a few different techniques:

• Huffing: Soaking a rag in the substance and putting it over the mouth and nose while breathing in.
• Bagging: Spraying the substance into a plastic bag and putting it over the head, then breathing in. This can lead to suffocation.
• Snorting: Sniffing directly from the container.

Are Inhalants Addictive?

Yes. Though studies on inhalants aren’t as numerous or detailed as the plethora available on other drugs, they do show inhalants have similar addictive effects, including cravings.¹ Concerning addiction and withdrawals, inhalants most closely mimic alcohol and benzodiazepines (anxiety-reducing drugs).¹

Because inhalants produce a short-term high, many people continue their substance use for hours at a time. This continuous redosing and moving to stronger products can alter the reward pathways and other neurochemical operations in the brain. These changes can lead to a physical and emotional dependence, and then, a substance use disorder.

Inhalant Use and Addiction Statistics

A study reports, “More than 22 million Americans age 12 and older have used inhalants, and every year, more than 750,000 use inhalants for the first time.”² This correlates to 9% of the population ages 12 and older. For every general inhalant user, around 6-8% meet criteria for an inhalant use disorder.

However, inhalant use has been on the decline, with a 2023 national survey from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reporting, “less than 1% of people ages 12 and older reported using inhalants at least once in the past year.”³

Inhalant use almost always begins during adolescence and is discontinued quickly.³ But some young people struggle to stop. The younger people start using inhalants, the more likely an addiction becomes. A study found that adolescents who started using inhalants before they turned 15 had a 5-6x higher likelihood of developing inhalant addiction, compared to those who started later on.³

Effects of Inhalant Use

Ingesting inhalants causes both short-term and long-term impairments. In some cases, inhalant use can prove deadly.

Short-term Effects

Inhalant intoxication closely mimics alcohol intoxication because it depresses, or slows down, the central nervous system (CNS).³ This causes effects like:

• Slurred speech
• Loss of appetite
• Heart arrhythmias
• Discoordination and stumbling
• Muscle weakness
• Euphoria (feeling especially good) and excitability
• Asphyxiation (suffocation)
• Unconsciousness
• Sudden sniffing death syndrome, which happens when inhalants abruptly stop someone’s heart⁴

Inhalants can also cause chemical burns on the mouth and nose. The pleasurable effects wear off quickly, which can prompt multiple redoses.

Long-term Effects

Inhalants can have particularly grievous long-term effects on people’s physical and mental health.² Some effects can reverse with cessation, but the damage can be life-long and can have deadly complications. These dangers go unreported, meaning most users, especially kids, don’t know what they’re risking.

This list, though long, captures just a handful of the effects of inhalant abuse.

• Cognitive deficits, including memory loss and learning difficulties
• Poor judgment
• Loss of brain cells and white matter, which can lead to various neurological disorders
• Damage to brain cells
• Hearing loss
• Hepatitis⁵
• Organ failure, typically the liver, heart, and kidneys
• Loss of bone marrow and Leukemia
• Optic nerve damage
• Chronic pain from nerve damage
• New or worsening mental health conditions
• Suicidal ideation and attempts

Signs of Inhalant Use and Addiction

Someone who uses inhalants will show a few key signs in their physical, psychological, and behavioral presentations.¹

Behavioral Signs

If someone’s just used an inhalant or suffers from an inhalant use disorder, these are the behaviors you’re likely to notice:

1. Trouble concentrating
2. Seeming out of it
3. Depressed mood
4. Struggling to form words and talk
5. Irritability

Physical Signs

The physical signs of inhalant use can be some of the easiest to spot. Keep an eye out for:

1. Paint or glue on their clothes or skin
2. Wounds on their mouth and nose—they may look like blisters
3. A chemical odor on their breath
4. Paint, glue, or other substances around their mouth or nose
5. Stains from paint, aerosols, and other substances on their fingers and nails

Psychological Signs

Repeated use of inhalants can lead to depression, suicidality, and anxiety.² Someone may seem suddenly or unusually sad, anxious and/or struggling with insomnia. These effects can result from the toxic chemicals themselves or the negative consequences of addiction.

Withdrawal Symptoms of Inhalant Use

Inhalant withdrawal symptoms closely resemble alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawals, though experiencing withdrawal symptoms from inhalants isn’t very common.¹ It’s more likely to happen in those who’ve taken inhalants for an extended period of time and in high doses. Symptoms of inhalant withdrawal include:

• Vomiting
• Jitters
• Irritability
• Hallucinations
• Insomnia
• Delusions

Treatment Options for Inhalant Addiction

Most treatment centers don’t offer specific programs for inhalant use recovery; rather, they apply the practices and concepts used for general drug addiction recovery. As practitioners become more aware of inhalant use, especially in adolescents, specialized treatment programs will hopefully crop up in treatment centers worldwide.

Treatment options for drug addiction, and thus inhalant use disorder, include the following.

Inpatient Treatment

Inpatient treatment involves staying at a treatment facility to uncover and treat the behavioral, psychological, and physical effects of inhalant use. You’ll likely work with therapists 1:1 and in group settings; many rehabs offer family therapy too. Days in treatment typically involve a blend of therapy, group activities, downtime, and extracurricular outings (like hiking or going to the beach.)

Rehabs typically offer detox services to treat withdrawal symptoms in a safe medical environment. You’ll also learn relapse prevention strategies and leave with coping tools for challenging emotions. Stays typically last 28-60 days but can extend longer.

Day Treatment and Intensive Outpatient

Day treatment and intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) offer treatment for less intensive needs. For example, in day treatment, you spend 5-8 hours a day in treatment, 5-7 days weekly, but go home afterward. You’ll still engage in 1:1, group, and potentially family therapies with your healthcare providers, but without intensive monitoring and structured activities beyond your therapeutic care.

Intensive outpatient programs follow the same setup but with less time spent in treatment. Often 3-4 days weekly for a couple hours a day. Day treatment and IOPs can serve as step-down levels of care for those coming from rehab or as primary treatment for those with less intensive needs.

Therapy and Peer Support

Attending therapy regularly can address the underlying issues leading to inhalant use. Your therapist can help you identify unhelpful beliefs and thought patterns that lead to inhalant use and practical strategies to alter how you respond to difficult emotions. Building a collection of coping tools and behavioral strategies can strengthen your recovery long-term.

Peer support includes peer recovery meetings, where people in recovery meet to connect and hold each other accountable. Peers provide support and often form strong friendships that can be vital in recovery. You can search for 12-Step or SMART Recovery groups near you to find a meeting.

Find Help for Inhalant Use and Addiction

Inhalant use is highly treatable. Many of the negative physical and mental effects wear off with cessation, meaning treatment can help you feel better fast. Therapy can help address underlying triggers and causes for inhalant use, while relapse prevention strategies prepare you to live confidently in recovery.

Use Recovery.com to find a treatment center that fits your needs. You’ll find photos, reviews, insurance information and more, all in one place.