Nitrite Inhalant Abuse in Antisocial Youth: Prevalence, Patterns, And Predictors (Report‪)‬

Nitrite inhalants are effective vasodilators and have been used in the treatment of chest pain for more than 100 years (Butler 2006). During the 1960s and 1970s, nitrite use became popular among some nightclub attendees and men who have sex with men (MSM) (Sansweet 1977). Although abuse of nitrite inhalants continues to be a public health concern in North America and Europe, relatively little is known about the characteristics of illicit nitrite users and the patterns and correlates of their nitrite use. It is, however, well established that some users believe the drug enhances certain social and sexual experiences (e.g., French & Power 1998). Though nonprescribed use of nitrites is legally prohibited in the United States, nitrites are readily available for purchase on the World Wide Web, where they are distributed in small vials and marketed under product descriptions such as "video head cleaner," "room odorizer," "leather cleaner," and "liquid aroma" (Romanelli et al. 2004). Recent nationally representative surveillance data from the 2006 Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey indicate that 1.2% of 12th grade students in the U.S. have used nitrites (Johnston et al. 2007). Wu and colleagues (2005) reported similar findings, estimating that 1.5% of the 36,859 12-to-17 year-olds participating in the 2000/2001 administrations of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse had used nitrites.