• Kaposi’s Sarcoma - According to Focus on Adolescent services (2005) Amyl and butyl nitrites have been associated with Kaposi's sarcoma (KS), the most common cancer reported among AIDS patients.  Early studies of KS showed that many people with KS had used volatile nitrites.  Researchers are continuing to explore the hypothesis of nitrites as a factor contributing to the development of KS in HIV-infected.
• Inhalant Induced Persisting Dementia - In order for this type of dementia to be diagnosed, there must be evidence from the history, physical exam or laboratory findings that the deficits are etiologically related to the persisting effects of inhalants. This disorder is termed "persisting" because the dementia persists long after the individual has experienced the effects of inhalant intoxication and withdrawal (APA, 2000).
• Burns - The highly flammable nature of inhalants leads to burns. Inhalants cause impaired judgment. Youths have received burns from lighting a cigarette while inhaling, or, in rural settings, throwing a used inhalant container in a bonfire.
• Developmental harm to fetuses - Abuse of inhalants during pregnancy may place infants and children at increased risk of developmental harm.
  • In 2003 Anderson and Loomis reported that fetal solvent syndrome manifests as low birth weight, small head size, facial dysmorphology, and muscle abnormalities similar to those occurring in fetal alcohol syndrome.
  • Jones and Balster (1998) reported 100 cases of children born to solvent-abusing mothers. Many of these children were small at birth, and some have craniofacial abnormalities not unlike that seen in children with fetal alcohol syndrome. Further, follow-up studies in these children report some evidence of retardation in growth and development and residual deficits in cognitive, speech, and motor skills. There is also some limited evidence of neonatal withdrawal from inhalants. It is recommended that infants born to women who have recently used inhalants be observed carefully for an alcohol-like withdrawal syndrome. Although it is not possible to link a specific birth defect or developmental problem in the child of an inhalant abuser to prenatal exposure to a specific chemical, it is clear that inhalant abuse places children at increased risk. Animal studies, designed to simulate human patterns of inhalant abuse, suggest that prenatal exposure to toluene or trichlorethylene (TCE) can result in reduced birth weights, occasional skeletal abnormalities, and delayed neurobehavioral development (NIDA, 2003).
  • A number of case reports note abnormalities in newborns of mothers who chronically abuse solvents. There is also evidence of subsequent developmental impairment in some of these children. However, no well-controlled, prospective study of the effects of prenatal exposure to inhalants in humans has been conducted, and it is not possible to link prenatal exposure to a specific chemical to a specific birth defect or developmental problem.

Dementia is only a diagnosis of old age.

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