Addiction that’s not to be sniffed at

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: More children and teenagers are getting addicted, so let’s expedite the process of making glue-sniffing an offence, said National Association for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (Pemadam).
“Glue is a substance which is cheap and easy to buy, making it popular for the young to get “high” on.
“We all know this phenomenon is nothing new and the number of glue addicts is increasing,” Pemadam secretary-general Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim said.
She noted the difficulty in completely banning glue, which is commonly used in many businesses such as in bicycle shops.
“Continuous use of glue leads to brain damage and even failure of the kidneys and liver,” she said at the pre-launch of the Anti-Glue Sniffing Campaign.
The campaign is held in conjunction with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2007.
“The sad fact is that children have died from it.
“Last year, three teenagers in Cheras were found dead as a result of continuous glue-sniffing,” she said.
Less than two months ago, two street kids, aged seven and nine, were found slumped among paper boxes near a rubbish dump next to a shopping complex in Miri. Cans of tyre glue were found near them.
Kamilia said social problems and stress were the main causes of children and even adults adopting glue-sniffing.
Asked on the number of addicts in the country, she said it was hard to determine as many cases went unreported and that glue-sniffing is not considered an illegal act.
She said 75 cases were detected between 2000 and 2005.