Substance abuse risk warning

Police issue warnings over dangers of substance abuse after it was discovered that Anton Tahmasian, a teenager who died at a party, had inhaled butane.

Anton Tahmasian collapsed after he inhaled butane gas at a graduation celebration in the Sidra Village in Umm Suquiem.

DUBAI // Police and health workers yesterday issued a stark warning of the dangers of substance abuse after the death of a teenage boy at a party. Anton Tahmasian, 16, collapsed after he inhaled butane gas at a graduation celebration in the Sidra Village gated community on Thursday. He was taken by ambulance to Rashid Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The death has raised concerns about the widespread use by young people of aerosols, gases and solvents as a cheap "high" . Yesterday, Ahmed al Merri, the deputy head of CID at Dubai Police, urged parents to be vigilant and to warn their children of the deadly consequences. He told The National: "These substances are cheap, readily available and deadly. Parents must keep a watch on their children and warn them about such products. "I would like to warn all parents and teenagers of the effects of inhaling such lighter-fluid gas. These are readily available and teenagers use them to get a high." Lt Col al Merri said the cause of Anton's death would be known once tests had been completed, but he confirmed the teenager had inhaled butane gas. He said the death was not being treated as suspicious. Witnesses told the police that Anton and another teenager at the party got into a fight, which was broken up by others. After the fight, Anton inhaled butane and passed out within minutes. Classmates rushed out of the villa compound and called for help. Dr Ahmed Yousif, medical director of the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) in Abu Dhabi, said: "Substance abuse is a serious problem and it is something we worry about often. No country is exempt from this problem.

"You must understand that youths are looking to experiment, which leads to such problems. They are not necessarily addicted to it and it is not a result of a breakdown in family values. "Inhalant abuse or volatile substance abuse is an international problem as these are available in household items. Such products should be carefully stored away from youngsters," Dr Ahmed Yousif said. He said municipality and civic authorities could do little to control the abuse of substances as they are used in household products such as nail polish, paints, glue, window cleaning fluid and cigarette lighters.

"Every time they ban one product, another variant comes up," he said. The deadliest cases, leading to death, occur when young people looking to get high on such substances take high doses. "Youngsters sometimes use such products directly from canisters, which is very dangerous." He said the centre has dealt with people who have been addicted to such substances for 10 to 15 years. The NRC and the UN office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are scheduled to sign an agreement tomorrow to launch the first survey that will uncover the extent of drug and alcohol abuse in the UAE. The survey is expected to begin this week.

Mr Yousif said raising awareness about such dangers in schools and colleges was crucial. "Along with awareness, we need restrictions on the accessibility of such products. But I do not know how this can be done," he said. Dubai Municipality said it was difficult to regulate the sale of solvents, inhalants and aerosols because of their inclusion in a wide variety of products. Sultan al Suwaidi, head of the public safety section at Dubai Municipality, said: "We would have to ban hundreds of products. If it comes in limited quantities as part of solvents, glue and others then we can't regulate it.

"Parents at home and professors at colleges have to counsel these teenagers on these dangers. That is the best way to prevent such cases. Every product has side effects. These items are not meant for sniffing or inhaling." More than 50 people, including Anton's friends and family, attended a memorial service at the English College's auditorium on Friday. A Facebook page has been dedicated to the teenager, with nearly 2,000 members. Anton is described as having been a very popular student.

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