2007 06: Speed up glue sniffing law

The Star online. News. Nation. Wednesday June 27, 2007

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Association for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (Pemadam) has urged the Government not to delay the process of legislating glue-sniffing as an offence under the law.

With the increasing number of children and teenagers becoming addicted to the substance, it was vital to expedite the move, said Pemadam secretary-general Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim on Wednesday.

She said the proposal had already been drafted and tabled in Parliament, but was still being studied by the Attorney-General's Office.

"Glue is a substance which is cheap and easy to buy, making it a popular substance for the young to get "high" on.

"We all know this phenomenon is nothing new, and the numbers of glue addicts are increasing.

"It is thus vital for the Government to expedite the legislative process of making it illegal, to both its user and seller," she said.

Kamilia however noted the difficulties of completely banning the substance, as it was a common chemical used in many industries and items, such as in bicycle shops which use the substance to repair tyres.

Speaking during the pre-launch of the Anti Glue Sniffing Campaign at Pemadam headquarters here, Kamilia said that glue-sniffing was more dangerous than the public was aware of.

The campaign was held in conjunction with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2007, which also saw several Non-Governmental Organisations and associations receive anti glue-sniffing banners from Pemadam.

"Continuous use of glue leads to brain damage and even failure of the kidneys and liver.

"The sad fact is that children have died from it. One such case was last year when three teenagers in Cheras were found dead as a result of continuous glue-sniffing," she said.

Less than two months ago, two street kids, aged seven and nine, were found slumped among paper boxes near a rubbish dump next to shopping complex in Miri. Cans of tyre glue were found near them.

Kamilia said social problems and stress were the main cause of children and even adults adopting glue-sniffing.

"I've been told by teachers from several schools that children hide a packet of glue in their shirt while in school and slowly sniff it throughout the day.

"Even worse, some parents bringing their children to school were spotted doing it," she said.

Asked on the number of addicts in the country, Kamilia said it was hard to determine as many cases go unreported, coupled with the fact that it was not illegal to sniff glue.

She said however, that there were at least 75 cases detected between 2000 and 2005.

"Once this has been legislated under the Dangerous Drugs Act, Pemadam will be able to take more effective action and make a change.

"Glue-sniffing has been around for more than 20 years. It is about time we do something about it," she said.

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Addiction that’s not to be sniffed at
The Star online. News. Nation. Thursday June 28, 2007

KUALA LUMPUR: More children and teenagers are getting addicted, so let’s expedite the process of making glue-sniffing an offence, said National Association for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (Pemadam).

“Glue is a substance which is cheap and easy to buy, making it popular for the young to get “high” on.

“We all know this phenomenon is nothing new and the number of glue addicts is increasing,” Pemadam secretary-general Datuk Kamilia Ibrahim said.

She noted the difficulty in completely banning glue, which is commonly used in many businesses such as in bicycle shops.

“Continuous use of glue leads to brain damage and even failure of the kidneys and liver,” she said at the pre-launch of the Anti-Glue Sniffing Campaign.

The campaign is held in conjunction with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2007.

“The sad fact is that children have died from it.

“Last year, three teenagers in Cheras were found dead as a result of continuous glue-sniffing,” she said.

Less than two months ago, two street kids, aged seven and nine, were found slumped among paper boxes near a rubbish dump next to a shopping complex in Miri. Cans of tyre glue were found near them.

Kamilia said social problems and stress were the main causes of children and even adults adopting glue-sniffing.

Asked on the number of addicts in the country, she said it was hard to determine as many cases went unreported and that glue-sniffing is not considered an illegal act.

She said 75 cases were detected between 2000 and 2005.