When people think aboutdrug abuse, their first thoughts might be ofillicit substanceslikecocaineorheroin. Many other substances are abused and can lead to addiction. Some of these addictive substances includeprescription medicines, over-the-counter medications or even common household items. Sometimes the substances are inexpensive and easy to find, like cans of air duster. Any office supply store likely sells them, so they’re widely available making it easy to become addicted.
What Is Air Duster?
Air duster is also known as “canned air,” but ironically there is no air inside the can. Instead, canned air is made of compressed gases. These products are designed to be used to clean out dust from sensitive electronics when liquid cleaners can’t be used. Some of the gases found in canned air include difluoroethane, trifluoroethane, and butane. These gases can be used for different purposes, but they are dense gases primarily used as refrigerants.
To make air duster, the gases are compressed into a can that is similar to an aerosol container. Unfortunately, air duster misuse is very common. Misusing air duster can cause seriousside effectsor death. There is a misconception that getting high from air duster is not dangerous because it’s believed to be just compressed air. This misconception results in deaths caused by air duster misuse. Since air dusters are inexpensive, household items it is commonly abused by children and teens. There have been efforts in many states to make it more difficult to buy air duster and many stores don’t sell them to underage individuals. Despite those efforts, air duster misuse remains a problem.
How Do People Use Air Dusters to Get High?
Air duster is an inhalant. When someone inhales the gasses and chemicals in these products, the lungs absorb them and they travel to the brain. The gases move the oxygen that would typically be in the lungs to removes the carbon dioxide from the blood, which is why people feel high. An air duster highstarts almost instantlyas the brain starts to lack oxygen and last a few minutes until the brain can get the oxygen it needs. To stay high, users will often inhale repeatedly over a short time. This necessity is because air dusterdoes not stay long in your system. However, inhaling repeatedly can be very dangerous andhas led to deaths.
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An air duster high is characterized by bothshort term and long term side effects and dangers.
How Addictive is Air Duster?
Abusing any drug can lead someone to develop a psychological addiction. Although air duster addiction is not common, it can happen in people who use air duster repeatedly. Stopping air duster can lead to mild withdrawal symptoms like:
- Changes in mood
- Insomnia
- Nausea
- Appetite loss
- Sweating
Air Duster Street Names and Common Misspellings
“Huffing” or “dusting” are the terms for using household aerosol products and inhalants to get high. The gas is inhaled directly or sprayed onto another piece of fabric and then sniffed or inhaled. Videos of people huffing air duster can be found on social media sites like YouTube, showing the immediate intoxicating effects and encouraging use by young adults.
Air Duster Addiction Statistics
Data from the2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Healthfound that 793,000 Americans ages 12 and up used inhalants for the first time within the past year. Almost 70 percent of these users were under the age of 18. Luckily, compared to data from the 1990s, inhalant use appears to be decreasing. It’s estimated thatalmost 10 percentof all Americans aged 12 and older have misused an inhalant, including air duster.
How to Find Help for Air Duster Addiction
With air duster and other household aerosol products readily available, it’s important to be aware of signs of aerosol abuse. The first obvious sign is the evidence left behind. Empty aerosol cans in garbage bins or left out are tell-tale signs that someone in your household may be abusing these products.
Other signs like inebriation, a sudden change in personal hygiene or awareness or other factors that seem out of the ordinary could be signs of an addiction. Inhaling air duster is not associated with physical dependence; however, that does not mean that treatment won’t be effective. In most cases, counseling and therapy can help to determine potential underlying issues that lead people to abuse drugs.
If you or a loved one struggle with an air duster or inhalant addiction, treatment is available.. The Recovery Village offers many different addiction treatment options to help you lead a healthier life. Reach out to us today for more information.
