Conferences

Inhalant Use and Disorder

Jupiters Hotel, Townsville
7-8 July 2003

Introduction

The term 'inhalants' is often used to describe volatile substances that can be inhaled to induce a psychoactive or mind-altering effect. A broad range of chemicals, found in hundreds of different household products, are misused as inhalants. These can be found in supermarkets, newsagencies, and hardware stores and include glue, petrol, paint, dry cleaning fluid and aerosols such as hairspray and deodorant. The response to inhalant misuse requires commitment and participation at Commonwealth, state and local levels, and partnership with professionals and with communities. The aim of this conference was to provide an opportunity for practitioners, researchers, policy-makers and community groups involved with inhalant misuse to discuss the topic, share knowledge and develop strategies to address the relevant issues. Papers presented to the conference deal with inhalant misuse from a wide range of perspectives, including drug policy, Indigenous issues, user surveys, law enforcement, government and industry initiatives and community responses, with a particular emphasis on preventive approaches and proactive programs.

Conference papers

Keynote address

• Volatile substances (time for policy makers to take a deep breath)
  Brian Watters AO, Australian Council on Drugs

Patterns of volatile substance misuse

• Inhalant use in Australia : an overview
  Toni Makkai, Director of Research, Australian Institute of Criminology
• Other drugs, other people, other places : the policy response to Indigenous petrol sniffing in Australia
  Peter d'Abbs, James Cook University; and Maggie Brady, Australian National University

Strategic frameworks

• Inhalant policy : what can we learn from the National Drug Strategy?
  Sue Henry-Edwards, Drug and Alcohol Services Council, South Australia
• Presentation of key findings of a 'chroming' survey (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Helen Begley, Youth Projects Inc

Research

• Inhalant use in Australia : a historical perspective
  Kate Hughes, Econeco Pty Ltd
• Inhalers : not always who or what we think! (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Jane Maxwell, University of Texas, United States of America

Youth

• Volatile substance misuse : experiences of the Townsville and Thuringowa youth justice service (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  David Olsen, Department of Families, Queensland
• Paint on their hands : is paint sniffing really the issue? (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Jeff Cheverton and Melissa Lucashenko, Youth Affairs Network, Queensland

Law enforcement responses

• A problem oriented and partnership policing (POPP) approach to volatile substance abuse
  Amanda Moran, Queensland Police Service
• The interaction between petrol sniffers and bush court in Aboriginal communities
  Natalie Siegel, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
• CARP : Common Assessment Referral Project : a local collaborative response to minimise the harm to young people who use inhalants
  Helen Riddell, Moonee Valley City Council, Victoria

Community responses

• Learning from and developing integrated responses to inhalant misuse in Brisbane
  Peter Forday, Department of Families, Queensland; and Tom Ogwang, Drug-ARM, Queensland
• Community engagement in addressing volatile substance misuse (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Jenny Madden, Community Solutions Inc
• The Youth Well-being Program (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  David Mayawurrthalwuy, Alfred Wanambi and Andrew Dowadi, Darwin Skills Devlopment Scheme

Interventions

• Exploratory study of volatile solvent use in Townsville teenagers (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Adrian Hepi and Torres Woolley, James Cook University
• Bringing a multi-disciplinary approach to inhalant abuse prevention (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  June Hintz, Mothers Against Drugs Inc
• Mother's crying out for help
  Maria Walmby, Department of Health, Queensland

Government and industry initiatives

• Volatile substance misuse : a community engagement strategy
  Natalie Niethe, Commission for Children and Young People, Queensland
• The Victorian Government's response to inhalant abuse
  Irene Tomaszewski, Drug Policy Co-ordination Unit, Department of Human Services, Victoria and Steven Tudor, Legal Policy Unit, Department of Justice, Victoria
• An industry perspective
  Stan Moore, Australian Retailers Association

From perceptions to practice

• 'Just a dirty kind of drug' : young people's perceptions of chroming
  Sarah MacLean, The University of Melbourne
• Inhalant use and Indigenous communities (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Rachel Atkinson, Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service, Queensland
• Evidence-based practice in inhalant use interventions : what works and what doesn't (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Anne Mosey, Consultant
• Where legislation stops and duty of care begins : a summary of the experience of police in Townsville in dealing with volatile substance abuse
  Cheryl Scanlon, Queensland Police Service

Workshops

• Our kids matter : paint sniffing : the Charter Towers story
  Elaine Gostzyla and Shiradean George, Charters Towers District Health Service
• Equipping people to make a difference : shared learning and shared experiences
  Michael Watts, Drug-ARM (Drug Awareness and Relief Movement), Queensland
• Balancing risk : guidelines for managing inhalant use in residential care settings (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Nicole Lee, Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Victoria
• Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council's 'Petrol sniffing and other solvents', manual and community development workshop : an introduction (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Andrew Biven and Jimmy Perry, Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council, South Australia
• Inhalant users : a community-driven strategy (ABSTRACT ONLY)
  Anne Mosey, Consultant
• Chroming and harm minimisation
  Tony Palmer, Youth Substance Abuse Service, Victoria
• Volatile substance use in Mount Isa : community solutions to a community identified issue
  Mark Polsen, Police Citizens Youth Club, Mount Isa, Queensland and Anita Chiauzzi, Turning Point Youth Services, Mount Isa, Queensland