.
Search
Email this articleE-mail this story  Discuss this articleWrite letter to editor  Discuss this articleOrder a classified ad

Dangerous goods

Consuming cleaners can kill

Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 02/03) - It's often desperation that leads people to consume household products, but that desperation can also lead to death and disability.

Andre Corriveau, chief medical officer for the NWT, said consuming household cleaners, mouthwash and hair spray pose "major problems" throughout the territory.

Corriveau said there are different types of alcohol and they have different levels of toxicity which are much more harmful than alcohol made for drinking.

"All these compounds are essentially the same, but the payback is different depending on which compound you've chosen," Corriveau said. "Rubbing alcohol is actually isopropyl alcohol and so it's much more toxic than ethyl alcohol found in drinks."

"We have a number of people who actually die each year in the NWT from alcohol poisoning -- their alcohol level is so high that it actually kills them."

The danger is with the type of alcohol and how it reacts with brain tissue and its interaction with enzymes.

"It's dependent on how fast it crosses into the brain," Corriveau said.

Substance abuse also has toxic effects on the liver and other organs, he said.

"I've seen kids go into renal failure from sniffing certain types of glue," he said. "Their kidneys shut down completely and they have to go on dialysis until they recover."

He said most drinkers will only consume these substances when nothing else is available to them.

"Most people who are looking for a high, would prefer to use alcohol than other substances, but it's not always available," he said. "It's almost one of the down sides to these campaigns to eradicate alcohol."

"People who are addicted will switch to things that are more readily available or a bit cheaper, so it's a paradox, in a way."