ENROLLED
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 24
BY REPRESENTATIVES BERTHELOT, BAGLEY, COX, HENSGENS, HOFFMANN,
HORTON, MIKE JOHNSON, LEBAS, MAGEE, DUSTIN MILLER, POPE, AND
WILLMOTT
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To urge and request the office of behavioral health of the Department of Health and
3 Hospitals to raise awareness of addictive disorders involving abuse of inhalants and
4 to make efforts to reduce the prevalence of inhalant abuse in this state.
5 WHEREAS, the effects of substance abuse disorders can be devastating for families
6 and communities; and
7 WHEREAS, the costs associated with substance abuse disorders are immense, and
8 include financial costs borne directly by the public in areas such as criminal justice and
9 public health, as well as the immeasurable human cost of lives that are lost too soon due to
10 these disorders; and
11 WHEREAS, less well-known than the harms caused by abuse of alcohol, prescription
12 medications, and illegal drugs are the dangers associated with the abuse of inhalants, which
13 are volatile substances that users inhale to induce mind-altering effects; and
14 WHEREAS, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National
15 Institutes of Health, although other abused drugs can be inhaled, the term "inhalant" is
16 reserved for a variety of substances including but not limited to solvents, aerosols, gases, and
17 nitrites that are rarely, if ever, taken by any other route of administration; and
18 WHEREAS, most inhalants are breathed in rapidly through the nose, mouth, or both
19 in a practice known as "huffing"; and
20 WHEREAS, inhalants produce a variety of serious short-term and long-term health
21 effects, and in some cases can be lethal, as high concentrations of these substances can cause
22 death from suffocation, and inhaling the highly concentrated chemicals in solvents or aerosol
23 sprays can also directly cause heart failure within minutes; and
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1 WHEREAS, gas duster, also known as "canned air" or just "duster", which is
2 designed for cleaning of electronic equipment and other sensitive devices, can be particularly
3 addictive due to the euphoria users feel from the effects of the substance's main chemical
4 compound, difluoroethane (a refrigerant); however, while many users assume that the worst
5 effect of duster is the possibility of passing out for a short time after huffing the substance,
6 there is also a real danger of the user dying almost immediately from acute hypoxia
7 (displacement of oxygen from the lungs) or from cardiac arrest pursuant to actual freezing
8 of lung tissue; and
9 WHEREAS, studies indicate that fifteen to twenty percent of eighth graders - nearly
10 one in every five schoolchildren in this grade - have tried inhalants; and
11 WHEREAS, the problem of inhalant abuse is of special concern because most
12 substances that can be abused as inhalants are legal and widely available; and
13 WHEREAS, the National Institute on Drug Abuse cites early identification and
14 intervention as the best ways to stop inhalant abuse before it causes serious health
15 consequences or death; and
16 WHEREAS, due to the abundance of specialized expertise among staff in the office
17 of behavioral health of the Department of Health and Hospitals, this office is uniquely
18 qualified to lead an effort to raise awareness of the effects of addictive disorders such as
19 abuse of inhalants which can be lethal, but are insufficiently understood currently among the
20 general population of this state.
21 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
22 urge and request the office of behavioral health of the Department of Health and Hospitals
23 to engage in any efforts to raise awareness of addictive disorders involving abuse of
24 inhalants as deemed necessary and proper by the secretary of the department and the
25 assistant secretary of the office.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the office of behavioral health is hereby
27 authorized to conduct public awareness efforts designed to publicize the dangers of inhalants
28 and thereby reduce the prevalence of inhalant abuse in this state.
29 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such public awareness efforts may include but
30 shall not be limited to public service announcements, information kits and brochures, and
31 provision of information concerning the dangers of inhalant abuse on an internet website.
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1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution and its resulting public
2 awareness efforts shall be dedicated to the memory of the late Jordan Lambert Soileau of
3 Denham Springs, Louisiana.
4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
5 to the family of Jordan Lambert Soileau, the assistant secretary of the office of behavioral
6 health, and the secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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