Effective Responses to Inhalant Use

Inhalant use continues to be a concern around Queensland.  In Townsville, two young people have recently passed away after using inhalants. There is also some evidence of an increase in inhalant use in Cairns and in the greater Brisbane region. To assist in responding to these increases, Dovetail has published a handy fact sheet titled "Effective responses to inhalant use."  The fact sheet provides a succinct overview of some of the strategies to manage acute intoxication, providing support for families, reducing the supply of inhalants, and coordinating service delivery. The fact sheet also includes an overview of some approaches to avoid, such as using scare tactics, ineffective school-based prevention programs and overly punitive approaches, that result in displacing the problem to another region.  The fact sheet builds on some of the existing approaches to managing inhalant use, including the "NHMRC Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Volatile Substance Misuse in Australia".

Download "Effective Responses to Inhalant Use" (142KB PDF)