Mothball sniffing warning issued

[Abrad]

news.bbc.co.uk
Doctors have warned teenagers about the dangers of sniffing mothballs after two teenagers fell ill through the habit.

An 18-year-old French girl had to be hospitalised when she developed scaly skin on her legs and hands, unsteadiness and mental sluggishness.

Medics were initially puzzled, especially as her twin sister displayed similar, but milder, symptoms.

But the New England Journal of Medicine reports that days later, it was found the mothballs were to blame.


Any form of volatile substance abuse is incredibly dangerous
Drugscope spokesman

It was discovered that the girls had been using the mothballs as a recreational drug when doctors found a bag of mothballs stashed in her room while she was being treated at the Hospital of Timone in Marseille.

Both girls had been "bagging" - inhaling mothball fumes - after encouragement from classmates.

The twin who was sickest had also been chewing half a mothball a day for two months.

She continued her habit in hospital because she did not think her symptoms were linked to the mothballs.

'Underestimated'

The balls, used to prevent moths getting into clothes, contain paradichlorobenzene (PDB), a substance also found in air fresheners and insect repellents but which can cause liver and kidney failure, and severe anaemia.

The doctors who treated the girls said the habit was "dangerous" and most likely under-reported in medical literature.

The sickest teenager took six months to recover fully.

Her twin, who had only been "bagging" for a few weeks, recovered after three months.

Writing in the journal, Dr Lionel Feuillet said: "Substance abuse by youths is a major public health concern.

"PDB is derived from aromatic hydrocarbons, which form one of the families of volatile substances that are commonly abused."

He said only three cases of getting high using mothballs.

But he added: "Since young people usually deny practicing self-intoxication, the incidence of this type of recreational activity is probably underestimated."

He said clinicians should be aware of the symptoms.

A spokesman for the UK organisation Drugscope said: "We are not aware that sniffing or eating mothballs is an issue in the UK.

"However, any form of volatile substance abuse (VSA) is incredibly dangerous.

"About a third of the young people who die from VSA die the first time they try it."

[old hippie 56]

OMG, how can anyone do this? The smell of those damn thing make me ill. They been linked to numerous ailments.

[Nagognog2]

Cancer and genetic defects - to name a few. Oh goodie! Keep pot illegal so our kids can only use...MOTHBALLS?! Yuck!!! The new Kiddie-Cocktail: Mothballs in Cough Syrup with a twist of Butane. "Hello? South Park writing staff?..."

[snapper]

Yea, I saw this article on CNN and thought I posted it (will probably reappear as a reply to another thread !). Astonishing. Remember when people started dipping cigarettes into formalin to get high because they took the nick name for PCP literally? Though many thought this was a hoax, it actually did occur and there was a publication documenting it. Makes you think it would be better to have a cannabis coffee bar in grade schools to deter the kids from sniffing glue, inhaling gasoline (lots of trip reports on Erowid), eating moth balls, self-asphyxiating, snorting laundry detergent, etc. All these "drugs" (except the last one being a joke, btw) get people high by decreasing oxygen to the brain. By this common mechanism all kinds of poisons out there will work. Formalin has the added feature of permanently fixing the tissues it comes in contact with, essentially pickling the user from the inside out.
Very sad...

Snapper

[Nature Boy]

Mothball sniffing warning issued

Mothballs are used to protect clothes from moth larvae

Doctors have warned teenagers about the dangers of sniffing mothballs after two teenagers fell ill through the habit. An 18-year-old French girl had to be hospitalised when she developed scaly skin on her legs and hands, unsteadiness and mental sluggishness.
Medics were initially puzzled, especially as her twin sister displayed similar, but milder, symptoms.
But the New England Journal of Medicine reports that days later, it was found the mothballs were to blame.
Any form of volatile substance abuse is incredibly dangerous


Drugscope spokesman


It was discovered that the girls had been using the mothballs as a recreational drug when doctors found a bag of mothballs stashed in her room while she was being treated at the Hospital of Timone in Marseille.
Both girls had been "bagging" - inhaling mothball fumes - after encouragement from classmates.
The twin who was sickest had also been chewing half a mothball a day for two months.
She continued her habit in hospital because she did not think her symptoms were linked to the mothballs.
'Underestimated'
The balls, used to prevent moths getting into clothes, contain paradichlorobenzene (PDB), a substance also found in air fresheners and insect repellents but which can cause liver and kidney failure, and severe anaemia.
The doctors who treated the girls said the habit was "dangerous" and most likely under-reported in medical literature.
The sickest teenager took six months to recover fully.
Her twin, who had only been "bagging" for a few weeks, recovered after three months.
Writing in the journal, Dr Lionel Feuillet said: "Substance abuse by youths is a major public health concern.
"PDB is derived from aromatic hydrocarbons, which form one of the families of volatile substances that are commonly abused."
He said only three cases of getting high using mothballs.
But he added: "Since young people usually deny practicing self-intoxication, the incidence of this type of recreational activity is probably underestimated."
He said clinicians should be aware of the symptoms.
A spokesman for the UK organisation Drugscope said: "We are not aware that sniffing or eating mothballs is an issue in the UK.
"However, any form of volatile substance abuse (VSA) is incredibly dangerous.
"About a third of the young people who die from VSA die the first time they try it."