Ban the sales of inhalants to minors

Inhalants should be sold to over 18s only.

Just recently I read a story regarding a 12 year old dying through the practice of chroming. Twelve! And dead from what we all think is an "innocent" product.
Bored youth inhale anything form paint, butane, whipped cream and deodorant to get a 'hit'. Just like all other substance abuse the practice of chroming can kill. Teenagers tend to spray one or more full cans of inhalants into a plastic bag for a few minutes of feeling high. They eventually become addicted to the chemicals and the feeling it gives, and before long need more than a can a day for their habit. It is easy for them to do as it is so readily available, from corner stores to supermarkets.

For many months I found empty deodorant cans appearing around my home. Not knowing anything about chroming the last thing I suspected was my son being into the practice. With my naivety, I thought that all my deodorants and lighters were evaporating! Over the months we noticed his personality change. My son's vibrant, happy go lucky personality changed to a sleepy, nasty, spiteful and argumentative one who passed out often. He was kicked out of school and lost interest in nearly everything he used to enjoy.

We suspected some sort of drug abuse and even tested him for it ( he passed) so we put it down to puberty. It was only after finding an empty can in a plastic bag in our bathroom it clicked what was going on. After a confrontation with my son, a scrounge around his room and the house we found over 30 empty deodorant cans ( in plastic bags) hidden in various places.

The addiction to chroming is very real! It can afflict anyone. My son is not 'bad', nor does he come from a bad home. He has been loved, cherished and supported his entire life. He is a normal, average teenage boy who became bored. Our family suffered for months through my son's chroming addiction - life became a nightmare. We still do, with the memories and the fear. It was very difficult to get anyone to take us seriously as it is "only chroming" but it is far from "only chroming". From experience, it is as real as any other drug addiction and afflicts families the same, but more difficult to control due to the low cost and the ease of supply.

Fortunately, through a lot of hard work and effort, my son has been 'clean' for several months. He went through withdrawal symptoms; tremors, cravings, sweats, dizzy spells and so on but is alive!! We are yet to find out if there are any side effects to his general health or brain function. Even now, months after he has stopped ( which was no mean feat!) I am scared stiff that he will go back to the habit and not be so lucky next time. Inhalants in many forms are so readily available to anyone. My one saving grace is that I have talked to my local store who won't supply him, but that is a small local store. How can this be controlled when there are chemists and supermarkets everywhere supplying our children and teens with "innocent" deodorant and whipped cream!
Apart from the multitude of problems chroming can cause; brain damage, lung damage, neurological problems, research also states that many kids can die of sudden sniffing syndrome. It can happen their first time, or their fiftieth time. Chroming interferes with the heart's ability to process adrenalin, so one small adrenalin rush ( such as a parent knocking on the bathroom door) is enough to give any user, new or chronic a major heart attack. I therefore fear everyday for my son's life and the life of someone else's child who is chroming. Word needs to be spread on how nasty this is.

Parents need to be aware that chroming is very real and very common and that the average deodorant can cause death to kids that try it for drug use. I therefore urge that all inhalants be made available to adults only making it more difficult for kids to get hold of for reasons other than it's intended use.

Yours Sincerely