180 Gasoline
day the pilot who had been more severely affected had allergic symptoms
(sneezing, nasal discharge, eyes watering and itching) and poor appetite.
Sniffing leaded gasoline is uncommon in the United States, as federal reg-
ulations halted motor fuel sales of that substance (although the product was
still available in Mexico and Canada in the 1990s). In addition to injury from
gasoline the product can cause lead poisoning. Leaded gasoline damage to
thinking ability has been documented: attention, learning, and memory. Rec-
reational users of leaded gasoline may also suffer organic brain damage lead-
ing to tremors, difficulty in moving arms and legs, personality change,
psychosis, sleepiness, and dementia. Recovery may occur, but fatal outcome
is possible. One study of persons hospitalized for chronic leaded gasoline sniff-
ing in Australia noted a 40% death rate, but that was the death rate for persons
so sick that they required hospital care, not for chronic leaded gasoline users
as a whole. Persons with industrial exposure to leaded gasoline fumes have
exhibited psychotic behavior, occasionally followed by death. Gasoline sold
as a motor fuel may containtolueneor various other chemicals that are haz-
ardous to breathe and that may account for some unwanted effects attributed
to gasoline.
Injection of liquid gasoline for recreational purposes is disastrous; in Nazi
Germany gasoline injection was an experimental method of execution. A case
report about a drug abuser who survived gasoline injection noted nerve dam-
age that reduced motion capability in the arm and hand. Drinking gasoline
can also have serious medical consequences; one case report listed kidney and
respiratory failure along with damage to liver and blood, accompanied by
seizures.
Injury may occur by combining dangerous activity with impaired judgment
during intoxication. Unconscious persons may let a gasoline container spill its
flammable contents all over them. Recreational users have suffered major
burns from ignition of vapor and liquid. Open flame is unnecessary; a static
electricity spark can set off the gasoline. Inhaled gases can spread into other
parts of the body besides the lungs, and fire from ignited gasoline vapor can
instantly reach into the body’s interior with devastating consequences. One
scientific journal article is entitled “Death Due to ‘Harakiri’ or Gasoline
Fumes?”
Abuse factors.Gasoline gets little attention as a substance of abuse in the
United States, but researchers in India studied nine teenage and younger per-
sons who declared gasoline to be their top choice among recreational sub-
stances. These users were all from lower social and economic backgrounds,
and their fathers tended to be alcoholics. Authorities have described the prac-
tice as more popular in rural American communities than in big cities. A study
of the habit among Navajo teenagers found them doing poorly in school and
prone to trouble with police, factors probably having nothing to do with ef-
fects of the chemical but that indicate that gasoline misuse appeals to social
misfits. Research in Australia and Canada has also linked the practice to in-
dividuals experiencing personal and social discontent. The practice seems
more prevalent among males than among females. Gasoline sniffing is often
a social occasion rather than a solitary practice, suggesting that the custom
has elements of promoting group identity and solidarity.