ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the acute adverse health effects of various substances, referred to as novel psychoactive substances. Inhalants consist of a broad range of volatile substances that can be intentionally taken via the nose or the trachea in order to produce a psychotropic effect. Inhalants or volatile substances can be classified either by their chemical structure or by product category. Since the year 2000, there has been an apparent surge in the use of a diverse class of substances, the synthetic cannabinoids. They are usually marketed as branded products and are often available on the Internet or in ‘head shops’, and they contain a non-psychoactive dried plant base that has been dipped or sprayed with one or more of a range of synthetic cannabinoids Inhalants present a significant abuse problem in both industrial and developing countries with particularly high rates in the USA, the UK, Singapore and Brazil.
