Deodorant chroming affordable escapism for Melbourne’s street kids

[Jabberwocky]

YOUNG children getting high on underarm deodorant is now one of the biggest challenges confronting youth workers on Melbourne’s streets.

Frontline welfare organisations say chroming, or sniffing, inhalants has regained popularity in the past six months despite bans and restrictions on purchases of some paints and aerosols.

Pre-teens are buying or stealing deodorant to sniff because it’s a cheap and accessible form of “escapism”, youth workers say.

They say that while the drug ice has received nationwide media attention in recent years, chroming continued to be the popular with children.

Whitelion outreach workers have “lost count” of the number of times they’ve had to call an ambulance for people who’ve sniffed inhalants or had a cocktail of drugs.

In northern Queensland last year, chroming became so rampant that deodorants were taken off the shelves in some major supermarkets.

But frontline workers say that banning sales in Victoria may not work because other products are readily accessible.

It comes as a new bus has hit the road to give young people a safe place to wait while they come down from their drug high, thanks to donations by community groups.

A team of volunteers and social workers on board the Chatterbox Bus has provided “critical support” to almost 2000 young people in the CBD and surrounds.

Whitelion’s Anthony Grimm said the bus, which visited homeless hot spots at night, had given chromers as young as 12 food, water, blankets and first aid.

“There’s obviously something there that they’re trying to escape from, or they’re trying to fill a void,” Mr Grimm said.

“There’s a need that isn’t being met ... and this is where we come along.”

The bus — which had been connecting youth to housing and health services for more than a decade — recently received an 11th hour funding reprieve from community groups.

Dom Ennis from Youth Drug and Alcohol Advice, which partners with 32 welfare organisations, said chroming remained a constant problem statewide and any increase would have been contained to peer groups or suburbs.


Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vi...|heading|homepage|homepage&itmt=1434880585317


Well nothing like smelling nice when doing drugs

 

[gh0stmAn]

So kids are really inhaling shit like Axe body spray to get high?? Like eww how? Why wouldn't they just use N2O which is A LOT safer and WAY WAY less harmful to the body.. I have a feeling they are huffing spray can paint mostly though, don't those inhalers of paint use the chrome color one cuz it has something in it that gets them higher, i saw a documentary part on guys doing that and they were like literally brain-dead it was insane. These kids are going to do serious damage if there's any truth this article.

But i am guessing a lot o these people huffing chrome spray paint from a bag are homeless people that either were or now are metentally unstable from inhaling such toxic things... Yes N20 is safer and isn't very harmful at all and I am sure is a way better experience then going into retard mode on some dangerous inhalant of hydrocarbons and a bunch of other chemicals destroying your mind phystically and mentaly.. If ur going to inhale anything N2O is the only safe options (but even that can get out of hand but u won't go retarded like the paint inhalers at least and hardly anyone has the desire to start a N20 addiction, it just last too short for that to happen to most.

 

[S.J.B.]

Oh come on...

 

[slimvictor]

This is so fucked up. If cannabis and other, safer drugs were legal, do you think they would stoop to this level?

 

[paranoid android]

Jesus christ why can't they just go to a store and buy whippets? Or failing that whipped cream cans as they have Nitrous in them too. All these Solvents/inhalants of abuse such as duster, this spray deodorant shit, gasoline, glue, etc are about the most dangerous drugs you can do hands down. Along with causing permanent brain damage, nerve damage, organ damage, behavior changes such as violent or suicidal actions and some of the most severe withdrawal syndromes of any class of drugs out there inhalant abuse can also cause Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. This can happen even the first time using inhalants in healthy adults with no previous cardiac problems and results from irregular heartbeat often triggered off by a surge in Adrenaline. This is why social workers and Police working in those 3rd world communities where inhalant addiction is prevalent tell people never to confront someone who is under the influence of inhalants as startling them may very well cause them to drop dead. So you really couldn't pick a more dangerous class of drugs.

I don't understand why anyone would huff these dangerous poisons when you can get Nitrous which is a very safe drug for about the same price. The only thing you have to worry about with Nitrous is B-12 depletion which can be easily countered by B-12 supplements.

All thw same it must be a slow news day i mean it's not as if huffing is a new thing. Taking spray deodorant off the market would accomplish nothing as they would just buy glue, duster or gas instead.

 

[SixBuckets]

When I was a teenager, supermarkets in my area generally wouldn't sell whipped cream bulbs to teenagers. I always presumed that was a legal restriction, but I now think they may have just been self-policing.

 

[S.J.B.]

I really doubt this is a real problem.

 

[paranoid android]

When I was a teenager, supermarkets in my area generally wouldn't sell whipped cream bulbs to teenagers. I always presumed that was a legal restriction, but I now think they may have just been self-policing.

It's kinda like that here in regards to Codeine. While it's not a regulation for the pharmacies to ask for your name when buying any Codeine product stronger then the shitty 3.3mg cough syrup they all ask for your name and some ask for your ID even. It's just self policing and i am sure they do it half the time to make themselves feel more important.

 

[Crankinit]

On the flip side, I never had a problem at 17/18/19 buying nitrous cannisters on a Saturday/Sunday morning while decked out in rave gear and obviously fucked up.

I think it's important to note that the article mentions zero statistics - just sounds like more sensationalism to me. Guess ICE EPIDEMIC!!! fear mongering isn't getting the page hits it used to.

 

[FuckWithRaw]

Yo let the tikes get nangs instead.
Really though who would resort to deodorant to get high?? Lack of oxygen is so fun.... smh When will they understand that the safer alternatives should be legized instead of demonized??

 

[poledriver]

 

[SexyTweakerBitch]

Dude inhalants are so fucking bad for your brain. I heard they can kill braincells and cause brain damage in just a short period of time and they cause a high number of deaths as well. I remember when I was a teenager if I couldn't get any weed or alcohol I would get pretty desperate at times but the most desperate attempt to get high had to be nutmeg lol. Downing cough syrup for a DXM trip was a close second. IMO no drug can possibly be worse for you than inhalants though, it makes crystal meth and crack look like broccoli.

 

[slimvictor]

Our understanding of the literature is that there is no such thing as safe use of most volatile solvents, aerosols or other street inhalants : their psychoactive effects may be inseparable from nerve and organ damage.

source: https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/inhalants/inhalants.shtml

Damn, poledriver, that video is scary.

 

[weekend addiction]

So kids are really inhaling shit like Axe body spray to get high?? Like eww how? Why wouldn't they just use N2O which is A LOT safer and WAY WAY less harmful to the body.. I have a feeling they are huffing spray can paint mostly though, don't those inhalers of paint use the chrome color one cuz it has something in it that gets them higher, i saw a documentary part on guys doing that and they were like literally brain-dead it was insane. These kids are going to do serious damage if there's any truth this article.

But i am guessing a lot o these people huffing chrome spray paint from a bag are homeless people that either were or now are metentally unstable from inhaling such toxic things... Yes N20 is safer and isn't very harmful at all and I am sure is a way better experience then going into retard mode on some dangerous inhalant of hydrocarbons and a bunch of other chemicals destroying your mind phystically and mentaly.. If ur going to inhale anything N2O is the only safe options (but even that can get out of hand but u won't go retarded like the paint inhalers at least and hardly anyone has the desire to start a N20 addiction, it just last too short for that to happen to most.

N20 is way more expensive these kids are homeless they don't have much money and get it little at a time. So saving 15 for 24 hits of nitrous from a headshop you could get 5 cans of Axe for that! Not to mention you also need a cracker.

One time I got a 600 box of whippets for 200 bucks. I miss that I'd just chill and do half a box of whippets at random.

 

[poledriver]

yep. heaps easier for them to steal deodorant bottles.

 

[Burnt Offerings]

Go get some "real drugs", goddamn

Being broke and homeless is no excuse, either. Almost all the junkies I know are broke, some are homeless. Haven't these youngsters learned how to shoplift, rob, and commit check fraud yet?

 

[belligerent drunk]

Toluene in computer duster? They usually contain a mixture of butane and propane, not toluene. Why would you put a high-boiling LIQUID in a computer duster can? Lol. Butane/propane doesn't give much of a high in my opinion, so perhaps the stuff she's inhaling is some halogenated stuff.

I believe it is more of a myth that all inhalants are inherently extremely toxic and harmful. I think most harm comes from improper use, such as oxygen deprivation, frostbite or other accidents. That is not to say that some solvents aren't toxic, like chloroform for example. Toluene is rather harmful as well, and having done it (pure, synthesis grade) out of curiosity I can't see why people keep coming back to it, it's a shitty drug. However some inhalants such as diethyl ether or nitrous oxide are not that harmful at all.

 

[drug_mentor]

This is so fucked up. If cannabis and other, safer drugs were legal, do you think they would stoop to this level?

They definitely would, they are underage so if cannabis was legal they would still be unable to obtain it legally. Alcohol is safer than chroming and is legal, but these kids are chroming instead of drinking alcohol. You have to consider price as a factor too, it costs next to nothing to buy enough deodorant to get high. Cannabis and alcohol are very expensive by comparison and street kids probably don't have much disposable income.

Jesus christ why can't they just go to a store and buy whippets? Or failing that whipped cream cans as they have Nitrous in them too. All these Solvents/inhalants of abuse such as duster, this spray deodorant shit, gasoline, glue, etc are about the most dangerous drugs you can do hands down. Along with causing permanent brain damage, nerve damage, organ damage, behavior changes such as violent or suicidal actions and some of the most severe withdrawal syndromes of any class of drugs out there inhalant abuse can also cause Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome.

In Australia whippets cost .50c-1$ a pop, you generally have to buy quite a few for them to come down in price. Usually bulk orders are placed online and homeless kids don't have a fixed address to take delivery. You also need a bulberator or whipped cream dispenser to use nitrous bulbs. It costs a few dollars for a can of deodorant, and I imagine that you can get high a number of times off of a single can. We are talking about street kids here, they are going for the most bang for their buck. People living on the street often don't have much regard for their long-term health.

 

[spacejunk]

^exactly

I really doubt this is a real problem.

Sadly, it is.