July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Inhalants can be dangerous (03/06/2009)
Letters to the Editor
To the editor:
March 15-21 is National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week. When we think about our children using drugs, we don't always think of things like computer cleaner, fingernail polish remover, air conditioning coolant, gasoline, felt tip markers, spray paint, air freshener, butane, cooking spray, paint, glue or white-out. More than 2.6 million children are sniffing, or "huffing", the fumes, vapors or gases from common products like those listed above to get high.
Statistics tell us that one in five students in America has used an inhalant to get hgh by the time he or she is in the eighth grade. Sniffing or huffing can begin at age 10 or younger. The number of deaths attributed to inhalant use is unknown because the death is usually attributed to other causes such as a heart attack.
The most important thing you can do to prevent your child from using inhalants is to talk to them about it at an early but appropriate age. Studies have found that if you talk to your kids about the risk of drugs, it is 50 percent less likely they will abuse an inhalant.
Parents need to be aware of warning signs such as: Drunk, dazed, or dizzy appearance; glassy, glazed or watery eyes; slurred speech; uncoordinated movements; red or runny nose and eyes; spots or sores around the mouth; chemical odor on clothing; and mood changes.
Other things to watch for are: Painting fingernails with magic marker or white-out; sitting with a pen or marker close to nose; smelling sleeves or other parts of their clothing; possessing several butane lighters or refills; gasoline or paint-soaked rags; used spray paint cans.
In order to protect our children and reduce drug use among our youth we, as parents and members of the community, need to be aware of the dangers our youth face. We need to be aware of products that can be used as an inhalant and learn the slang words such as huffing, bagging, poppers, etc. There are various websites you can access to learn about inhalants and other drugs, such as www.inhalant.org.
The most important thing we can do to help our kids is to talk to them about drugs and to make ourselves aware of the danger signs and what to look for.
Helen Tow, Community and Family Services Inc.-Head Start, and member of the Jay County Drug Prevention Coalition
Clarification
To the editor:
What a fine example of how a change or two in punctuation can change the whole meaning and flavor of a sentence. Several days ago I responded to a letter to the editor by Mr. Matt Minnich, and somehow or other in the process of getting it into print there were changes made in punctuation which, according to his letter today (Monday) in The CR, left Mr. Minnich, and perhaps others, with the impression that I was calling Mr. Minnich "a fool." I apologize for that, and anyone who knows me knows that even if I thought otherwise in private I would not be saying it publicly.
Here's what I intended to write:
"Well, here we go again. (period) Ignoring the warning to 'keep your mouth shut and your foot out of it' or, 'It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt,' etc., (comma) I'm hoping here to ask a few questions and to float an opinion or two."
What appeared on the opinion page of The CR:
"Well, here we go again, (comma) Ignoring the warning to 'keep your mouth shut and your foot out of it' or, 'It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt,' etc. (period) I'm hoping here to ask a few questions and to float an opinion or two."
Mr. Minnich could assume those "warnings" about "keeping your mouth shut and your foot ..." or speaking up and "removing all doubt" that one is "a fool" might have been directed at him and they were not. I was poking fun at myself by trying to say, "Oh well, let's just ignore the well-known warnings and dive head-first into the discussion."
It may seem like a small thing, but to be it is not; I don't wish to come across in public as a disrespectful, insulting smart-aleck. I hear plenty of that in daily TV network political rant. In the future, if I find myself unable to resist jumping in with a letter to the editor on some issue, as I very well may, I promise to be extra careful that the letter says exactly what I intend for it to say.
Glen Priest
Portland[[In-content Ad]]
March 15-21 is National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week. When we think about our children using drugs, we don't always think of things like computer cleaner, fingernail polish remover, air conditioning coolant, gasoline, felt tip markers, spray paint, air freshener, butane, cooking spray, paint, glue or white-out. More than 2.6 million children are sniffing, or "huffing", the fumes, vapors or gases from common products like those listed above to get high.
Statistics tell us that one in five students in America has used an inhalant to get hgh by the time he or she is in the eighth grade. Sniffing or huffing can begin at age 10 or younger. The number of deaths attributed to inhalant use is unknown because the death is usually attributed to other causes such as a heart attack.
The most important thing you can do to prevent your child from using inhalants is to talk to them about it at an early but appropriate age. Studies have found that if you talk to your kids about the risk of drugs, it is 50 percent less likely they will abuse an inhalant.
Parents need to be aware of warning signs such as: Drunk, dazed, or dizzy appearance; glassy, glazed or watery eyes; slurred speech; uncoordinated movements; red or runny nose and eyes; spots or sores around the mouth; chemical odor on clothing; and mood changes.
Other things to watch for are: Painting fingernails with magic marker or white-out; sitting with a pen or marker close to nose; smelling sleeves or other parts of their clothing; possessing several butane lighters or refills; gasoline or paint-soaked rags; used spray paint cans.
In order to protect our children and reduce drug use among our youth we, as parents and members of the community, need to be aware of the dangers our youth face. We need to be aware of products that can be used as an inhalant and learn the slang words such as huffing, bagging, poppers, etc. There are various websites you can access to learn about inhalants and other drugs, such as www.inhalant.org.
The most important thing we can do to help our kids is to talk to them about drugs and to make ourselves aware of the danger signs and what to look for.
Helen Tow, Community and Family Services Inc.-Head Start, and member of the Jay County Drug Prevention Coalition
Clarification
To the editor:
What a fine example of how a change or two in punctuation can change the whole meaning and flavor of a sentence. Several days ago I responded to a letter to the editor by Mr. Matt Minnich, and somehow or other in the process of getting it into print there were changes made in punctuation which, according to his letter today (Monday) in The CR, left Mr. Minnich, and perhaps others, with the impression that I was calling Mr. Minnich "a fool." I apologize for that, and anyone who knows me knows that even if I thought otherwise in private I would not be saying it publicly.
Here's what I intended to write:
"Well, here we go again. (period) Ignoring the warning to 'keep your mouth shut and your foot out of it' or, 'It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt,' etc., (comma) I'm hoping here to ask a few questions and to float an opinion or two."
What appeared on the opinion page of The CR:
"Well, here we go again, (comma) Ignoring the warning to 'keep your mouth shut and your foot out of it' or, 'It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak up and remove all doubt,' etc. (period) I'm hoping here to ask a few questions and to float an opinion or two."
Mr. Minnich could assume those "warnings" about "keeping your mouth shut and your foot ..." or speaking up and "removing all doubt" that one is "a fool" might have been directed at him and they were not. I was poking fun at myself by trying to say, "Oh well, let's just ignore the well-known warnings and dive head-first into the discussion."
It may seem like a small thing, but to be it is not; I don't wish to come across in public as a disrespectful, insulting smart-aleck. I hear plenty of that in daily TV network political rant. In the future, if I find myself unable to resist jumping in with a letter to the editor on some issue, as I very well may, I promise to be extra careful that the letter says exactly what I intend for it to say.
Glen Priest
Portland[[In-content Ad]]
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