[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 22, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S8787]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 257--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT OCTOBER 
 15, 1998, SHOULD BE DESIGNATED AS ``NATIONAL INHALANT ABUSE AWARENESS 
                                 DAY''

  Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself, Mr. Lott, Mr. Daschle, Mr. D'Amato, Mr. 
Helms, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Biden, Mr. Cleland, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Torricelli, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Inouye) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 257

       Whereas inhalant abuse is nearing epidemic proportions with 
     over 20 percent of all students admitting to experimenting 
     with inhalants by the time they graduate from high school and 
     only 4 percent of parents suspecting their children of 
     inhalant use;
       Whereas according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 
     inhalant use ranks third behind use of alcohol and tobacco 
     for all youths through the eighth grade;
       Whereas the over 1,000 products that are being inhaled to 
     get high are legal, inexpensive, and found in nearly every 
     home and every corner market;
       Whereas using inhalants even once can lead to kidney 
     failure, brain damage, and even death;
       Whereas inhalants are considered a gateway drug, one that 
     leads to the use of harder, more deadly drugs; and
       Whereas because inhalant use is difficult to detect, the 
     products used are accessible and affordable, and abuse is so 
     common, increased education of young people and their parents 
     regarding the dangers of inhalants is an important step in 
     our battle against drug abuse: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) it is the sense of the Senate that October 15, 1998, 
     should be designated as ``National Inhalant Abuse Awareness 
     Day'', to be observed with appropriate activities; and
       (2) the Senate requests that the President issue a 
     proclamation designating October 15, 1998, as ``National 
     Inhalant Abuse Awareness Day''.

     

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