Crossin Rose, Whelan Jai, Ball Jude
Department of Population Health, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Int J Drug Policy. 2025 Oct;144(Pt 2):103991. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.103991. Epub 2023 Mar 3.
The term 'inhalants' is commonly used to describe a group of drugs that are characterised by the route of administration. There are three main sub-groups of inhalants; volatile solvents, alkyl nitrites, and nitrous oxide. These drugs all have different pharmacological properties, use patterns, and potential harms; yet they are sometimes grouped together in survey instruments. This critical review aimed to present a comparative analysis of how these inhalant drugs are defined, and use measured, across a range of population-level drug use surveys.
Population-level drug use surveys of youth (n=5) and general population (n=6), which measured use of at least once type of inhalant drug, were analysed as case studies. The types of inhalants surveyed were extracted, as well as definitions of these drugs, from code books or survey methods.
Differing definitions were used between surveys, and included differences between countries, and between surveys intended to measure youth and general population drug use. Of the six general population surveys; five reported nitrous oxide use, five reported volatile solvent use, and four reported alkyl nitrite use. Of the five youth-specific surveys; three reported volatile solvent use, whereas only one reported on alkyl nitrite use, and one reported nitrous oxide use.
There is no consistent approach used to define or measure the use of inhalant drugs, which has implications for global comparisons and understanding drug use in different populations. We conclude that the term 'inhalants' should be discontinued, due to the limited value in continuing to group very different types of drugs solely on the basis of their route of administration. Improving the epidemiology of volatile solvents, alkyl nitrites, and nitrous oxide as distinct drug types will be of benefit to harm reduction, treatment, and prevention efforts, and ensure these are targeted appropriately to population groups and context of use.
“吸入剂”一词通常用于描述一类通过给药途径来界定的药物。吸入剂主要有三个亚组：挥发性溶剂、亚硝酸烷基酯和一氧化二氮。这些药物具有不同的药理特性、使用模式和潜在危害；然而，在调查工具中它们有时被归为一类。本综述旨在对一系列人群层面的药物使用调查中这些吸入剂药物的定义方式以及使用情况的测量方法进行比较分析。
以对青少年（n = 5）和普通人群（n = 6）进行的人群层面药物使用调查作为案例研究进行分析，这些调查测量了至少一种吸入剂药物的使用情况。从编码手册或调查方法中提取所调查的吸入剂类型以及这些药物的定义。
不同调查之间使用了不同的定义，包括不同国家之间以及旨在测量青少年和普通人群药物使用情况的调查之间的差异。在六项普通人群调查中，五项报告了一氧化二氮的使用情况，五项报告了挥发性溶剂的使用情况，四项报告了亚硝酸烷基酯的使用情况。在五项针对青少年的特定调查中，三项报告了挥发性溶剂的使用情况，而只有一项报告了亚硝酸烷基酯的使用情况，一项报告了一氧化二氮的使用情况。
在定义或测量吸入剂药物的使用方面没有一致的方法，这对全球比较以及理解不同人群中的药物使用情况产生影响。我们得出结论，“吸入剂”一词应停用，因为仅基于给药途径将非常不同类型的药物继续归为一类的价值有限。改进将挥发性溶剂、亚硝酸烷基酯和一氧化二氮作为不同药物类型的流行病学研究，将有利于减少危害、治疗和预防工作，并确保这些工作能针对适当的人群群体和使用背景。
