Geelong boy Pheonix Werner’s death highlights the deadly scourge of deodorant huffing

THE high only last a few seconds and can kill just as quickly. As the family of a 14-year-old boy who died after inhaling deodorant know, it’s more concerning than it seems.

Deadly scourge of deodorant huffing

THE high lasts all of a few seconds, but it’s a thrill that can kill just as quickly.

As the family of a 14-year-old Geelong boy now know, deodorant inhaling, or “huffing”, is a concerning problem among teens.

On Friday night, high school student Pheonix Werner was found dead at a Geelong home where police say he had been huffing underarm deodorant. He suffered cardiac arrest.

The cause of death shocked police, with one attending officer admitting his ignorance of the worrying practice.

“In my 17 years or so in the police force, I’ve never heard of that before,” sergeant Dan Willsmore told the Geelong Advertiser.

“Certainly the death of a 14-year-old from it, if that’s what’s occurred as we can’t really say until the coronial inquest, is just horrendous.”

Finding a number or spray deodorant cans strewn around the home where Phoenix was found, as well as outside the house, Sgt Willsmore said the event was a disturbing warning of “the dangers of doing anything to the extreme”.

He’s right. Prolonged use of inhalant drugs, like sniffing or huffing deodorant, can have long term effects and lead to death, but what’s even more disturbing is the innocent seeming product can also claim a victim in one breath.

Bronwyn Milne from the department of adolescent medicine at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead says inhalant use for teenagers, particularly on younger side of the scale, is “concerning”.

“Inhalants are very easy to access for young people, but they are in no way safe. No level of drug use is ever safe,” Dr Milne tells news.com.au.

“They chase that initial rush of high and feel relaxed, it can cause blurred vision, disorientation, and it can have an effect that lasts up to 10, 15 minutes or so. But there are certainly risks involved, it can cause chest pains, problems with blood production, and have long term effects on the brain if there’s heavy and prolonged use.

At its worse, Dr Milne says, it has been reported to cause cardiac arrest, which can occur after only one use.

While around 17 per cent of 12- to 17-year-olds were found to have used inhalants by the Australian secondary schools survey, health professionals believe the real figure may be higher.

Dr Milne said there was a spectrum of use among users, with some huffing from the scented spray cans only once, while others may use it regularly as a cheap and accessible high or escape from reality.

While health professionals like Dr Milne see the effects of huffing on young people — this is not the first interview she’s been called on to do after the death of a teenager from inhaling deodorant this year — she acknowledges a level of ignorance about the issue in the community.

“There’s a possible lack of awareness because it’s often done in secret, so it’s very important for adults, teachers and parents to be aware of what’s happening to their teenagers and also the community about the risks of drug use, including inhalants,” she said.

University of New England associate professor of psychology John Malouff too sees that people are unaware of the deadly dangers a simple can of deodorant can pose when used as a drug.

“They may think that, these are just products anybody can buy, so how can it be dangerous?” Dr Malouff says.

“Anybody can buy a nail too, but if you drive it into your head, it’s going to cause big problems for you.”

Dr Malouff, who specialises in substance abuse, said many of the reasons young people were drawn to inhaling were the same as other forms of drug abuse.

“They might feel miserable and willing to take risks to get over it and chase that short term effect, not really thinking long term,” he said.

“But what’s much more likely of individuals in those teen years, is if their peers are doing it, even if only one or two of them have said they’ve done it and report good effects, that would be more influential. They may make it out to sound better than it actually is.

“It is risky and forbidden and both of those are exciting to young people. Because they can get it they may think it’s safer. The word will spread quickly about the high, but not about the risk until something really terrible happens.”

Pheonix Werner’s oldest cousin, Chelsea O’Keefe, believes it was peer pressure that got to her young relative.

“This was not the type of person he wanted to be. He didn’t want to be involved in the drug scene, he just wanted to fit in,” she told the Geelong Advertiser.

“Unfortunately he paid for it with his own life.”

Ms O’Keefe has started a gofundme campaign to help pay for her cousin’s funeral. She is hoping other teenagers who inhale deodorant or who could be pressured into trying it, will take notice of her cousin’s story.

“Don’t just hear that it can cause side effects and think it can’t happen to you because Pheonix was 14, his young body obviously just couldn’t handle it and therefore many other kids in the area doing it, it could easily be them next.”