Solvent abuse: an educational perspective.

1 A survey of the extent and frequency of solvent abuse was carried out among 898 male pupils in a comprehensive school in Glasgow in September 1976 by means of a structured questionnaire. 2 The ages of the pupils who completed this questionnaire ranged from 11-16 years and the most vulnerable group was found to be aged 13-15 years. The overall involvement was 10% although the extent of use among 'the sniffers' varied widely from once only (50%) to regular use (21.5%). 3 It was concluded that schools should attempt to determine the existence and extent of pupils' involvement in solvent abuse so that appropriate strategies might then be introduced to define the nature of the problem, reduce the number of sniffers and assess the effectiveness of the strategy. 4 By educating young people in the dangers of solvent abuse, schools can in a positive way help to diminish this problem but they must not see this role as separate from that of other agencies.