VSU
Prevalence data
Of the data available, two prevalence surveys report on volatile substance use:
- The National Drug Strategy Household Survey
- The Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug Survey
See below for a summary of the national and Western Australian results of these surveys.
The National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) is conducted every three years to gather data about drug use and related issues in the general population. It is a household-based survey which captures people aged 14 years or older residing in private dwellings in Australia at the time of the survey and excludes those who live in non-private dwellings, are homeless, or live in institutions or on military bases.
The survey measures community attitudes towards alcohol, tobacco and other drug use and asks forrespondent's perceptions towards various drug-related policies.
In the most recent survey conducted in 2023, more than 21,000 people aged 14 or older provided information on their drug use patterns, attitudes and behaviours.
In the NDSHS, volatile substance use is captured within the illicit drug use category defined as "other psychoactive substances, legal or illegal, that can potentially be used in a harmful way".
In the 2022-2023 survey, 5.6% of national respondents reported having ever used a volatile substance in their lifetime, which was a statistically significant change from 2019 where 4.8% reported having ever used. In the 12 months prior to the survey, 1.4% reported using volatile substances.
Of those who reported volatile substance use in the 2022-2023 survey, the two most commonly used volatile substances were reported to be amyl nitrite and other nitrites (60.5%) and nitrous oxide (56.2%). These results where similar to that of the previous survey, with the main difference being a notable reduction in the use of petrol as an inhalant.
Gay, lesbian and bisexual people were 8.6 times more likely to have used a volatile substance in the past 12 months than heterosexual people, likely due to the use of amyl nitrites1.(Vaccher et al. 2020).
Of those who use volatile substances, students were more likely to have used in the past 12 months (3.4%) than those who were employed (1.6%).
The age group that reported highest for lifetime use of volatile substances was the 20–29-year-old category (11.1%), which was a statistically significant increase from the previous survey (8.4%). This age group also was highest for use in the past 12 months.
The average age of initiation of lifetime drug use was reported to be 20.5 years.
For more information see the National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022–2023 and National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022–2023: Low-prevalence illicit drugs in the NDSHS - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Western Australian NDSHS results 2022-2023
The Western Australian results of the NDSHS indicate that:
- of respondents aged 14 and older, 1.4% reported using volatile substances in the past year
- the average age of initiation was 20.1 years.
For more information, see the Data tables: National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022–2023 – 9b. States and Territories at: National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2022–2023, Data - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
The Australian School Students' Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) survey is the largest national survey of secondary school students’ use of substances and is conducted every three years. It is administered on school premises and more than 10,000 secondary students aged 12 to 17 completed the survey in 2022-2023. The ASSAD survey is designed to examine trends and provide estimates of the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol and illicit substance use among Australian secondary school students.
* Note: The data for the 2023 survey was collected five years after the 2017 survey report, instead of three years due to a COVID-19 related delay and had less than half of the respondents than participated in 2017 (potentially due to the change in survey mode (from pen and paper to online), from the survey lasting across two academic school years as opposed to one academic school year.
ASSAD defines volatile substance use as "deliberately sniffing from spray cans or deliberately sniffing things like glue, paint, petrol, thinners, nangs or poppers in order to get high or for the way it makes them feel" (ASSAD, 2022-23).
In 2022-23, Australian school student responses indicated that 20.3% had ever used a volatile substance with 7.4% having used in the past month.
The proportion of Australian students using inhalants in their lifetime showed a statistically significant increase in the 2022/2023 survey compared to the 15.9% reported in 2014.
For more information see ASSAD 2022-2023: Australian secondary school students’ use of alcohol, and other substances.
ASSAD Survey - Western Australian results, 2022-2023
From the 1,817 responses collected for WA school students aged 12 to 17 years in 2022-2023, inhalants were the second most commonly used drug, with an upward trend identified and a significant increase in lifetime and past year use since 2017.
| Recency | % |
|---|---|
| Lifetime | 20.3% |
| Past year | 14.4% |
| Past month | 7.3% |
| Past week | 4.1% |
Of those students who had deliberately inhaled substances in the past year, the most frequently used substances were:
- petrol - 39%.1
- glue - 26%
- paint - 25.2%
Of those students who reported inhaling volatile substances in the last year:
48.3% reported using by themselves
- 34.9% did so in the company of others
Of the students who used volatile substances, 27% reported last using inhalants at their home, with 11% reporting use at school.
Use of inhalants was perceived by students as one of the least dangerous substances, with just under a quarter (23.4%) stating it was ‘not dangerous’, and the smallest proportion of students identifying it as ‘very dangerous’ (38.2%) as compared to their thoughts about the danger attributed to other substances.
For more information, see Australian Secondary Students Alcohol and Drug Survey (ASSAD) 2022-23.
Alcohol and Drug Support Service calls
The Alcohol and Drug Support Line (ADSL) is a confidential, non-judgemental telephone counselling, information and referral service for anyone seeking help for their own or someone else’s alcohol and or other drug use. The ADSL also provides support to health professionals working with individuals and families impacted by alcohol and/or other drug use.
The ADSL receives around 20,000 calls per year with, on average, less than 1% of calls related to VSU, as either a primary or secondary drug of concern2.
Presentations to drug treatment services/Treatment episodes
Very few people attending treatment services in Western Australia report their primary reason for presenting as VSU. Episodes for VSU treatment in WA from the past 10 years account for less than 1% of all treatment episodes.
On average there are between 20,000 to 30,000 episodes of treatment in WA each year, of which approximately 0.15% identified volatile substances as the principal presenting drug of concern3.
Morbidity and mortality
There is currently no systematic collection of inhalant-associated mortality or morbidity at either a national or state/territory level in Australia (d’Abbs & MacLean, 2008). One reason is the range of methodological issues associated with the assessment of morbidity and mortality associated with VSU.
For example, people who use volatile substances may present to hospitals or clinics with illness such as pneumonia, or injury such as burns, which have volatile substance inhalation as an underlying cause and are therefore not recorded as being associated with VSU (d’Abbs & MacLean, 2008).
Similarly, diagnosis codes used to capture VSU-related presentations and admissions do not distinguish between deliberate and accidental exposure to volatile substances and its effects.
VSU-related deaths
According to the Western Australia Mortality Database, there have been a total of 17 deaths attributed to volatile substance use from 2008 to 2018. Of these, 11 out of the 17 deaths (64.7%) were male.
An Australian study, Characteristics and circumstances of volatile solvent misuse-related death in Australia, 2000–2021, analysed the conditions of mortality and characteristics of VSU-related deaths in Australia. From the analysis of the 164 identified cases, the following was discovered:
- nearly 80% were males
- average age of 26.5 years
- just over 8% of the cases were of men aged 40 years and over
- majority were unemployed (62.2%)
- 9.1% were married or in a relationship
- just over 60% were due to unintentional toxicity
- 20.1% was a result of unintentional asphyxia
- 12.2% of individuals had intentions to self-harm
- 6.7% were traumatic accidents
The volatile substances most involved in deaths included:
35.4% - gas fuels (of which 40.7% was butane, 29.6% was toluene 25.9% was propane)
- 19.5% - petrol
- 19.5% - adhesives and paints
- 12.8% - aerosol propellants
- 12.8% - volatile anaesthetics (of which 95.3% involved nitrous oxide)
Research conducted in England and Wales over a similar period, Deaths related to volatile substances, helium and nitrogen in England and Wales: 2001 to 2020 registrations, analysed VSU-related deaths and discovered a total of 716 deaths - an average of 36 deaths annually which has remained stable throughout the years.
Males had a higher rate of mortality (77.9%). The average age at death has nearly doubled from 27.6 years in 2001 to 46.1 years in 2020.
Fuels were the main volatile substance involved (59.5% of deaths), of which butane was responsible for 45.2% and propane 17.2%. Nitrous oxide was the next most common mentioned substance at 7.8%.
Just over 40% of deaths were as a result of accidental poisonings and just over 35% were due to underlying mental or behavioural disorders.
Page last updated20 August 2025