By Claire Warrender

A Fife campaigner has called for action after a national study showed children as young as 10 are dicing with death by inhaling solvents on a regular basis.

John O’Brien, who fought for changes to the law following the death of his 16-year-old son Lee, spoke out yesterday following publication of Dangerous Highs, a joint report by Childline and the National Children’s Bureau (NCB).

The report revealed that children were using volatile substances, not simply to get high, but as a means of escape from severe trauma and emotional and mental health problems.

The study, which analysed over 350 calls to Childline about volatile substance abuse (VSA), said the accessibility of products found in every home such as glue, paint, correcting fluid and nail varnish, often enabled the abuse to start at a young age.

A girl sniffing nail varnish to block out the pain of her parents’ beatings and a boy “buzzing” deodorant in a desperate attempt to fit in were among experiences described to Childline counsellors.

The document also showed that children already marginalised by society—such as those in care or in young offenders’ institutions—were particularly vulnerable.

Mr O’Brien, from Methil, who formed the Lee O’Brien Solvent Trust (LOST) after his son’s death, said the findings proved it was time to educate both children and parents on the dangers of solvents.

“We’re not surprised to hear that children as young as 10 are addicted to solvents because we have been looking into this for three years,” he said. “We knew children were inhaling substances and we discovered a child aged just seven died from abusing solvents.

“Over 2000 children in this country have died from sniffing solvents and that has to stop. The only way to do that is through education.”

He said parents were often unaware of the dangers posed by everyday items such as lighter fuel and nail varnish which were often left lying around in the home.

“People don’t know that the items they are bringing into the house could kill their child so we need a national education campaign to hammer the message home that solvents can kill.

“It happened to my son and it can happen to other people’s sons and daughters.”

After Lee’s death, Mr O’Brien launched a huge campaign, amassed thousands of signatures on a petition, canvassed MSPs and MPs and as a result persuaded ministers to introduce a nationwide test purchasing scheme to stop retailers selling butane gas to under-18s.

His findings were reinforced in Dangerous Highs, which said that children were often scared and ashamed of their abuse of solvents so used them alone which meant that if something went wrong there was a high chance of death as there was no-one around to help.

Report author Simon Blake, assistant director of children’s development at NCB, said, “In the 1980s everyone knew about the problem of glue sniffing but over the last 20 years it has slowly slipped from public view and has been forgotten.

“Yet VSA continues to cause death and harm to many. With children playing Russian roulette with their lives it is no longer tenable to ignore VSA.”

Childline Scotland service manager Alison Todd added, “The accounts of children who call Childline about VSA are difficult and painful to read.

“It is critical that we face up to the fact that children are abusing volatile substances to escape the pain their lives are causing them.

“Childline and NCB hope that publishing the Dangerous Highs report will put VSA back on the public agenda—these desperate and despairing young people driven to risk their health and lives deserve nothing less.”

Childline and NCB are calling for a range of measures including legislation to minimise the quantity of dangerous solvents in products, continued work to regulate and reduce supply of volatile substances and education on VSA to be included in drug education in schools.

They also echo Mr O’Brien’s call for education for parents and carers.