
Statistics
Learn about community and school student prevalence, morbidity and mortality related to volatile substance use.
Statistical data on the prevalence of volatile substance use (VSU) is known to be inadequate due to difficulties capturing accurate VSU-data1. (d’Abbs P, Maclean S (2008) Volatile substance misuse: a review of interventions. (Monograph Series No. 65) Barton, ACT: Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing).
As VSU is not a criminal offence, presentations to the criminal justice system that may be related to VSU are often not recorded as such i.e. theft, break and enter or vandalism. Similarly, deaths and hospitalisations are often attributed to, and therefore recorded as, other conditions or presentations, i.e. the outcome of VSU rather than the VSU itself.
While the prevalence of VSU is low compared to the use of other substances such as alcohol and cannabis, VSU can be highly visible and have a significant impact on service providers and communities.