by Ann Marie Dwyer

Created on: November 23, 2007   Last Updated: November 25, 2007

"Dusting" is the new inhalant killer of teens. With the widespread availability of canned, compressed air and no legal restriction on its sale, teenagers are playing Russian Roulette with the mistaken idea that the air cannot hurt them.

Aerosolized, compressed air is most commonly used to clean electronic products, such as computer parts and keyboards. The name "dusting" comes from the brand name "Dust Off", whose product is available in online and retail stores in single cans, three packs and large cans. The inert air is not harmful, but the refrigerant used in the compression process can be fatal when inhaled.

The R2 fluorinated hydrocarbon is a similar refrigerant to freon used in refrigerators and air conditioning systems. As a heavy gas, it fills the lungs preventing oxygen absorption. The effect is a 8-10 minute "high", a state of trance-like euphoria, dizziness and paralysis caused by the hypoxia resultant of denying the brain oxygen. The paralysis can last from a few minutes to permanently. All refrigerants can cause damage to the brain, heart, kidneys, liver and lungs.

The appeal of this specific form of "huffing", inhalant abuse, is that the products are not restricted for purchase by age or amount, no fumes are lost, evidence of abuse is difficult to assess and no outward symptoms are readily noticeable, such as staining of the hands and face. The movie "Thirteen" opens with a scene of two young women "dusting" and slapping each other to awaken from the "high".

Lifestyle plays a major role in "dusting". Children are drawn to not only the "high" but also the attention they get from their peers when they participate. Psychologists treating "inhalant addiction" state that this behavior is not limited to its primarily middle class participants. The secrecy surrounding the abuse is a bonding experience for children and their peers.

Immediate danger from "dusting" is the arrhythmia caused by hypoxia of the heart. Hearts of healthy teens and young adults cannot combat the erratic beating of the heart that induces sudden cardiac arrest. Despite warning labels on cans, 39% of UK "sudden sniffing deaths" were attributed to first time experimentation with "dusting". US and Canadian governments estimate that at least 150 deaths per year in each country.

Warning signs are the less deadly, but no less dangerous, other symptoms. The cold air can cause frostbite, which untreated can become gangrenous, and nose bleeds from the loss of tender sinus membranes in the nose.

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