Guidance
Abusing volatile substances (huffing)
We need to understand how abusing volatile substances can affect oranga, including safety. We work with tamariki, rangatahi, whānau and family and use screening tools and resources to build understanding and support sustained oranga.Updates made to this guidance
Changes have been made to a number of pages on the Practice Centre to align with the practice approach. Specific changes include:
- Tiaki Oranga replaces the safety and risk screen, and is now being used throughout the life of a case, across service lines whenever we need to understand current safety.
- All references to the Tuituia domains and subdomains have been removed and we now promote the use of Te Puna Oranga and our models, tools and resources to build and deepen our understanding.
- The Tuituia report has been replaced with the assessment report.
Volatile substances and how they are abused
Volatile substances are toxic chemicals commonly found in New Zealand households, such as poisons, fuel or cleaning products, and include fly spray, spray deodorants, petrol and paint. People can abuse these substances, particularly spray paint, lighter fuel, liquid petroleum gas (LPG), glue and nail polish remover, by deliberately breathing in or ‘huffing’ the gas or vapours.
Physical effects and risks of huffing
Huffing volatile substances is very dangerous and carries a risk of sudden death.
These substances cannot be inhaled safely and the possibility of serious harm and death remains for some time after inhalation.
Inhalants – effects, risks and guidelines | Alcohol Drug Helpline
Signs that te tamaiti or rangatahi may be huffing
Possible signs of volatile substance abuse are:
- spots and sores around the mouth and nose
- chemical smell on breath or clothing
- hidden empty spray paint or solvent cans
- paint stains on hands, face or clothes
- te tamaiti or rangatahi becoming anxious, moody, irritable, withdrawn or angry
- drop in school attendance
- alterations to sleep patterns or eating patterns
- persistently runny nose or eye irritation
- mixing with new friends and hanging out in secluded places
- hangover-type symptoms.
Building understanding about huffing and its impact on oranga
Huffing, like any drug use, involves a complex range of factors and issues and some tamariki and rangatahi may be huffing due to other life events. We work with te tamaiti or rangatahi, their parents, caregivers, whānau or family and others (such as their teacher or school principal) to build understanding about the huffing behaviour and related issues.
Help te tamaiti or rangatahi understand the effects of substance abuse
Many tamariki and rangatahi don’t know about the effects of substance abuse and the risks they are taking. We can help them to understand by talking them through information about substance abuse. There are many resources and services available to help. Consider whether te tamaiti or rangatahi could be supported by engaging (where available) with a specialist youth health service or by services available within their school.
Volatile substances | NZ Drug Foundation Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri
Conversation planner | NZ Drug Foundation Te Puna Whakaiti Pāmamae Kai Whakapiri
Involve parents/caregivers, whānau or family
We work with parents/caregivers and whānau or family to build a shared understanding about harm, managing risks and addressing the oranga needs of te tamaiti or rangatahi.
We explore our developing understanding and analysis in supervision and in whānau or family consultations. This is important for working out what we need to focus on.
As we build our understanding, we need to consider what health assessments, such as gateway assessments, and specialist drug and alcohol services are required to help build a picture of strengths, risks and needs. Using tools such as SACs, Kessler and Suicide screens (SKS) helps us to assess drug use and its impact on oranga, including safety, for te tamaiti or rangatahi. They also help us to understand how we can work together to support te tamaiti or rangatahi.
Oranga-framed practice prompts
Child/young person and family consult