What it is
Inhalant use disorder is the deliberate inhaling of volatile substances, glue, petrol, paint thinners, solvents, aerosols, to produce a brief intoxication. It is overwhelmingly a problem among children and adolescents, and in our region especially among street-connected children, for whom these substances are cheap, legal, accessible and a way to numb hunger, cold and distress.
This is one of the most dangerous forms of substance use precisely because it is so often dismissed as a minor “street kids' habit.” The dangers are severe and the users are among the most vulnerable people in society.
How common is it
Inhalant use is overwhelmingly a problem of childhood and adolescence, and in our region it is concentrated among street-connected children, for whom solvents are cheap, legal, and easy to get. Exact numbers are hard to gather, but the practice is visible in towns across the region. Most people stop as they reach adulthood, but the dangers in the meantime are severe and immediate.
Why it is so dangerous
Inhalants can kill suddenly and without warning, even on a first use, through a heart-rhythm catastrophe known as sudden sniffing death, or through suffocation. Beyond this acute danger, regular use causes lasting harm: brain damage affecting thinking and movement, and damage to the liver, kidneys, lungs and other organs. Because users are often children facing poverty, neglect and homelessness, the substance use sits within a much larger web of need.
How it is addressed
There is no specific medicine; help is psychological, social and protective. Effective responses address the whole situation of the child: safety, shelter, nutrition, schooling or reintegration, family tracing where appropriate, and trauma-informed support, alongside help to stop using. This work is usually delivered by outreach programmes, child-protection services and NGOs rather than clinics alone, and it requires patience and continuity.
Treating inhalant use in isolation, without addressing why a child is on the street and sniffing glue, rarely works. The substance is a symptom of a larger emergency.
Inhalant use in the African context
Across the region, inhalant use is most visible among street-connected children, and it is too often dismissed as a minor street habit when it is in fact a serious danger affecting some of the most vulnerable young people. The substance is rarely the whole story; it usually sits within poverty, family breakdown, neglect, and life on the street, which is why scolding or arrest changes little. The responses that work treat it as a child-protection and safeguarding priority, addressing the child's whole situation alongside the substance.
How to help
If a child or young person is using inhalants, the priority is protection, not punishment.
- Treat it as a safeguarding emergency, not a habit to be scolded away, given the risk of sudden death.
- Connect the child with outreach programmes and child-protection services that can address shelter, safety, and reintegration, not the substance alone.
- Respond with patience and continuity, since trust and stable support are what allow change.
- Avoid shame and arrest as first responses, which tend to drive children further from help.
- Our Get Support page can help you find services.
When to seek help
If a child or young person is using inhalants, involve child-protection and outreach services that can address both the substance use and the underlying situation. This is a safeguarding priority, not merely a habit to be scolded away.
Sources
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). DSM-5-TR.
- Cruz, S. L., & Bowen, S. E. (2021). The inhalant problem: A review. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 207, 173210.
- Embleton, L., et al. (2013). The journey of addiction: Barriers to and facilitators of drug use cessation among street children in Kenya. PLoS One, 8(1), e53435.