PHYSICAL EFFECTS

Organic compounds such as solvents, adhesives, and propellants in aerosol spray cans comprise a large group of substances that, when sniffed, are referred to as inhalants.  They are found in a variety of industrial and household products derived primarily through petroleum distillation.  The most common of these compounds is gasoline.

When inhaled, the fumes damage the brain and nervous system, liver, kidneys, and bone marrow.  A cross section of a normal human liver is shown above.  When the liver becomes diseased through inhalant abuse, fat accumulates in the liver and it becomes scarred and hard as a rock.  The liver shown at left is from a 38-year-old man who had a long history of inhaling gasoline fumes.  A person with a liver like this has no tolerance for stress, no reserve energy, and may die suddenly from liver failure, as in this case.

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