HPA concerned over rise in solvent abuse deaths

The Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland (HPA) has today called on parents and retailers to be more aware of the dangers of solvent abuse after figures revealed that the number of related deaths in Northern Ireland have risen, despite a fall across the rest of the UK.

Latest figures for the UK show that the number of Volatile Substance Abuse (VSA) deaths in 2003 fell to 51, the lowest annual total since 1980, but in Northern Ireland they increased from one death in 2002 to five in 2003.

Victoria Creasy, Senior Manager for Public Health at the HPA said: “Although there is no obvious pattern to the VSA related deaths and figures fluctuate from year to year, since 1971 there have been 82 deaths in Northern Ireland associated with VSA.

“Parents and retailers need to be more aware of the types of everyday household substances that can be lethal and of the warning signs that a young person may be misusing them.”

VSA is the deliberate inhalation of any kind of volatile substance in order to become intoxicated such as cigarette lighter refill cans, certain kinds of glue and aerosol sprays such as deodorants, hairsprays and air fresheners.

(MB/SP)