What should young people know about VSA?

Most young people will know more about volatile substance abuse than their parents. However, much of their knowledge is picked up from friends and may be misinformed.

Find the right balance
Young people will probably be aware of a wide range of products which can be sniffed. However, education on VSA should take into account the "innocent" element who may only have a sketchy picture of the problem. It is unnecessary to provide details of abusable products, beyond what is usually "common knowledge", for example glue-sniffing. Too much information, may alert children to potentially sniffable products about which they previously knew little. Children should be aware that domestic household products, which contain volatile chemicals, are dangerous if used for a purpose other than that for which they were designed.

Risks
It is important to emphasize that there is no safe way to inhale chemicals and the risks are as high for those sniffing for the first time, as they are for someone who has been sniffing for many years. Death can seem a very abstract notion to children, who are often surprised to learn that children just like them, are dying every week.

Personal Health and Safety
Volatile substance abuse can be sensitively handled by placing it within an overall context of respect for one's own body and personal rights. An understanding of the effects sniffing may have on the body mind and physical appearance, can often be persuasive for young people already experiencing a confusing and difficult period of emotional and physical change. A useful approach may be to place VSA within the context of safety in the home, on a par with other potential household risks which may result from using products for a purpose other than that for which they were intended, for example playing with matches or drinking poisons.

Alternatives
It may not be enough to present the hard facts without offering an alternative to VSA. Where sniffing is being used as a coping mechanism, advice should be given on other ways of coping and where to get that help. Youth groups are an excellent environment in which to encourage and help young people to lead a full and satisfying life, and can offer a range of activities to develop individual interests.

Self-esteem
Young people need to know that they have the right to a safe and healthy lifestyle, based on good guidance and a sensible set of values. Their rights include the right to refuse to do something which they believe is not safe. The difficulty is in asserting those rights. Peer pressure can be one of the biggest influences during adolescence and, by nature, those who become most influenced by it are those who do not have the confidence to resist it. Education about VSA therefore needs to include techniques for building self-esteem.

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