Abstract：
Australian national, state and territory school-based drug education policies advise that volatile substance use (VSU) should be excluded from general drug education curriculum for fear of alerting young people to the intoxicating properties of substances such as petrol, sprays and glues. We review evidence from the United States and United Kingdom on the effects of including volatile substances in school-based drug education, to argue that these policies are due for reconsideration. Nitrous oxide and nitrites are classified as volatile substances along with solvents such as those listed above, although their patterns of use, effects and harms are different. In an era of widespread social media access, more young people than in the past are likely to have heard about VSU. But because VSU is often short-term, parents and teachers may be unaware when young people in their care consume volatile substances. The general silence about VSU in schools, difficulty in detecting use and the varying sets of risks associated with inhaling different substances mean that young people may be unaware of toxicity or harm reduction strategies when they consume volatiles as drugs. We consider some implementation challenges to be negotiated if VSU education were introduced in Australian schools.
摘要：
澳大利亚国民,州和地区以学校为基础的毒品教育政策建议，应将挥发性物质使用（VSU）排除在普通毒品教育课程之外，以免提醒年轻人注意汽油等物质的令人陶醉的特性，喷雾剂和胶水。我们回顾了美国和英国关于在学校毒品教育中包括挥发性物质的影响的证据，认为这些政策应该重新考虑。一氧化二氮和亚硝酸盐与上述溶剂一起被归类为挥发性物质，虽然它们的使用模式，影响和危害是不同的。在社交媒体广泛使用的时代，比过去更多的年轻人可能听说过VSU。但是由于VSU通常是短期的，父母和老师可能不知道当年轻人在他们的照顾消耗挥发性物质。学校对VSU的普遍沉默，检测使用的困难和不同的风险与吸入不同的物质，意味着年轻人可能不知道毒性或危害减少策略，当他们消费挥发物作为药物。如果在澳大利亚学校中引入VSU教育，我们认为需要协商一些实施挑战。
