Petrol Sniffing I: What You Should Know About It*

Abstract

Aboriginal communities all over Australia from time to time have to deal with their young people sniffing petrol. It seems to be a ‘craze’, like playing knucklebones or yo-yos. Suddenly everyone is doing it, and all the parents get worried. Then, sometimes, it suddenly stops happening – the kids get more interested in going out bush with the older people, or perhaps someone gets sick, or they might burn themselves with the petrol, and this frightens the others.

When kids sniff petrol they see ‘pictures’, feel dizzy and funny in the head, a little bit drunk, and they like to have those feelings. Young people (and older people) everywhere sometimes take drugs or drink alcohol to help them feel ‘high’. They do this sometimes when they feel depressed or angry, and it seems to help those feelings. Kids use petrol because it is available everywhere and is easy to get. But there is a big problem with petrol which makes it different from other things. It has LEAD in it, to make car engines run better – and lead is very harmful to people, especially children.