Lack of Central Australian youth services blamed for habit increase

ADVOCATES for troubled kids have damned the lack of Central Australian youth services after a 12-year-old boy died from sniffing deodorant cans.

Deodorant sniffing

ADVOCATES for troubled kids have damned a lack of youth services in Central Australia after a 12-year-old boy died from sniffing deodorant cans.

The boy was found unconscious in the Coles carpark, in Alice Springs, about 8.40pm on Saturday.

He was among about eight kids said to have sniffed two cans of deodorant each but the others were not harmed.

Central Australian Youth Linkup Service policy boss Tristan Ray – who has worked in the region for 12 years – said 500 people were sniffing in the region 10 years ago, but this dropped 94 per cent when Opal fuel was introduced.

He said sniffing had increased in the past two years after the Government defunded outreach programs.

“In the absence of drop-in centres and outreach programs there’s little to help these kids,” he said.

“There used to be a good range of programs that aren’t here anymore. Sometimes there is a peak in sniffing and it levels out but the rate has stayed up.”

READ: DEODORANT SNIFFING OUTBREAK IN ALICE SPRINGS

As a result, tackling the problem has been largely left to police, ambulance and patrols, Mr Ray said.

Alice Springs retailers have committed to limiting access to potential inhalants, by locking them in a cage, keeping them under the counter, or by educating staff about their legal obligation to refuse to sell them to customers that they believe intend to sniff them.

The NT Government is working on changes to the Volatile Substances Abuse Prevention Act which will entrench this in legislation, giving retailers clear guidelines for refusing sales.

There have been at least seven sniffing-related deaths around Alice Springs in the past 12 years, and Mr Ray said he knew of more in the greater region.

“While the numbers are low, we are concerned in Alice that if this continues we could see another death,” he said.

Alice Springs councillor Chansey Paech said that the NT Government had its “head in the sand” when it came to youth substance abuse and echoed calls for the outreach programs to be reinstated in the community.

Police urge anyone with information on the boy’s death to call 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.