[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 141 (Friday, October 9, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S12251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    EXPRESSING SENSE OF SENATE RELATIVE TO NATIONAL INHALANT ABUSE 
                             AWARENESS DAY

  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the consideration of S. Res. 257.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 257) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate that October 15, 1998, should be designated as 
     ``National Inhalant Abuse Awareness Day''.

  The Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to; that the preamble be agreed to; that the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to 
the resolution be printed at the appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 257) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:

                              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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