Glue sniffing becoming popular among youth in Shan State

_{By Hseng Khio Fah
9 January 2009}

In northern Shan State capital Lashio, young people from all 12 quarters of the town are sniffing glue. University students as well as children as young as 15 years old are also using it, said a local source.

“There are tens of thousands of people sniffing it. Because it is better to use than Yaba, and the price is also cheaper than a pill of Yaba,” he said.

The price of glue is between Kyat 200-300 per can and is not only easily available but is also legal and therefore can be purchased at any shops with a low cost. However, the price has now dramatically increased to Kyat 500- 600 as more people have come to use it, said the source.

“Each can is enough for about 4 people,” said another source. “Some people use as many as about 4 cans a day.”

Some people are using it as a substitute for warding off suffering, stress and hunger, according to a resident in Tachilek, eastern Shan State.

“After using it, the feeling is like being able to achieve anything in life, even plucking the moon from the sky,” he said.

Users may feel sleepy after using it and slowly lose their consciousness sometimes leading to death, according to him.

“There are many people including students sleeping on the roads after using it. No one come and arrest them.”

Some students’ families are worried their children will use it and are afraid the abuse will be more on the rise. 

People are using it in many ways depending on the appetite of the users. Some take it into a bag of plastic and sniff it while some people rub it in their hands and sniff. Another way is to burn the whole glue and sniff.