Inhalant Suspected in Death of Boy, 12

A 12-year-old Huntington Beach boy died over the weekend after inhaling air freshener fumes from an aerosol can, the victim of a cheap, quick “high” that some drug counselors said Monday they fear may be coming back into vogue.

Tyler James Pinnick, a sixth-grader at Vista View Middle School, died at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach early Sunday after his great-grandmother and paramedics found him unconscious in the bathroom. The boy’s death came on the eve of National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week, March 19-25, declared by Congress to inform the public of the dangers of household inhalants.

At the great-grandmother’s home Monday, Tyler’s grieving parents were still trying to make sense of their loss. They struggled to understand why he appeared to be trying to experiment with inhaling aerosol fumes, or “huffing.”

Renee Sherer said she had tried to educate her son about alcohol and illegal drugs like marijuana. “We talked openly [about drugs] . . . but I’d never heard of ‘huffing,’ ” she said.

“He wasn’t a depressed kid, or in any trouble,” Tyler’s father, Dennis Pinnick, said. “It could have been boredom; it could have been peer pressure. I just can’t judge those kids. The thing is, he was alone.”

They described Tyler as an affectionate son who cared for his sisters and was generous with his emotions.

His mother said she had not noticed anything different in Tyler’s recent behavior. “He came home every day, and he always called,” Sherer said. “He always told me he loved me, even in front of his friends . . . I thought I was the luckiest mom in the world.”

Fighting back tears, she remembered the boy who wanted to become a football player.

“He had so many plans,” she said. “He had everything to live for. He couldn’t wait to be 13.”

Saturday night, her husband said, Tyler had been at his great-grandmother’s house when he went into the bathroom. After several minutes, she went to the door to ask if he was all right. He responded: “Just a minute, Granny.”

Then she heard a loud thump, like someone had fallen. Unable to open the locked bathroom door, she called paramedics, who found Tyler unconscious. They were unable to revive him. Nearby they found a can of disinfectant and air freshener, which they believe the boy was using to get high, he said.

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The practice of sniffing glue or aerosol products came to the public’s attention in the 1970s, but appeared to fade from the scene. Some commonly used products: cooking sprays, liquid floor cleaners, paint thinners, nail polish remover and a variety of glues, experts said.

The chemicals go directly to the brain, causing a quick and inexpensive high, experts say. Use can prevent oxygen from entering the bloodstream, resulting in damaged organs, blackouts or death.

In recent years the practice has been increasing among preteens, especially in Orange County, where many middle-class kids may not have easy access to illegal drugs, said William H. Smith, vice president and director of clinical services for Phoenix Houses of California, a drug treatment program with a center in Santa Ana.

“It’s an almost accepted teenage phenomenon,” White said. “I think it’s increasing in Orange County . . . It appears to be more prevalent among white teens and preteens on the periphery of the drug culture trying to maintain some semblance of being straight-as-an-arrow kids. Most kids view this as something that’s harmless.”

In 1979 when Phoenix House first opened in Santa Ana, he said, only two or three of the 50 youngsters in the program had inhaled household products; today he said that number has mushroomed to nearly 70%.

School officials on Monday recalled Tyler as hard-working, decent and much enamored of sports.

“He was a real nice kid and a handsome young man,” said Kathy Bihr, principal of Vista View Middle School, where grief counselors were on hand Monday to help students deal with the loss. “He had real potential and was really working hard to improve himself.”

Michael Sherer, the boy’s stepfather, said that Tyler loved basketball, soccer and football, and wanted to be a professional football player or money manager. Math was his favorite academic subject.

“He was a boy who portrayed himself as an adult” by taking care of two younger sisters, he said.

About two months ago, the stepfather said, Tyler “started getting quiet and communications started getting difficult.”

But the family never suspected involvement in drugs, he said. “We’ve always tried to guard against this kind of thing with sports, academics and living in a decent area. I don’t know how many parents know what their children are doing behind closed doors--I don’t know why Tyler did what he did, it didn’t make any sense to us.”

School and police officials raised the same questions.

Police suspect Tyler died after inhaling the aerosol fumes, pending results from an autopsy.

“We hear about this sort of thing from time to time,” said Lt. Chuck Thomas, a spokesman for the Huntington Beach Police Department, “but this is the first time we can recall it happening in Huntington Beach.”

A data keeper for the Orange County coroner’s office estimated that the last death in the county from inhalants occurred two or three years ago.

And Bihr, the Vista View principal, said that she was not previously aware of inhalants among the students at her school. “It’s not something we counsel kids about,” she said.

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All that is changing very quickly.

This week, Bihr said, “we’re letting them know exactly how he perished. The kids need to know exactly what happened to cause such a tragedy--we are trying to reinforce that if they hear of something like this happening, that’s the time for them to break the code of silence.”

Some Phoenix House residents in Santa Ana said they wish they’d broken that code sooner.

“I saw other people doing it so I just thought, ‘Hey, if they’re all sitting there doing it, there’s no reason I can’t,’ ” said Daniel Parsley, 21, who starting using inhalants as a 15-year-old middle school student in Brea. Eventually, he said, the habit led to harder drugs, which led to prison. “You lose everything,” he said regarding the use of inhalants.

Christine Young, now a 27-year-old also seeking treatment at Phoenix House, said she started using inhalants 11 years ago in Anaheim. She agreed with Parsley.

“It more or less takes away from your focus on reality,” she said of inhalants. “There’s nothing good that would ever come of it.”

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Household Highs

It’s known as “huffing,” inhaling commonly found house chemicals to achieve a quick, inexpensive high. That practice claimed the life of a 12-year-old Huntington Beach this weekend. March 19-25 is National Inhalants & Poison Awareness Week. A closer look at inhalants--and their warning signs:

What are inhalants?

Inhalants are drugs that produce a quick, temporary high when their fumes or gases are breathed and absorbed into the body through the lungs. Compared with other recreational drugs, inhalants are cheap and readily available--more than a thousand common household product can be used to get high, from paint thinners to glue to nail polish remover, all items that can be legally obtained by minors. According to a recent survey by Phoenix House, which calls itself the largest substance abuse service organization, it is estimated that as many as one in five middle school aged students have used inhalants in the last year.

How dangerous are they?

Even first-time users run the risk of sudden death. Heavy and repeated use of inhalants increase the risk of brain damage, respiratory depression and liver and kidney disease.

What are the signs of inhalant abuse?

* Dizziness, mental confusion

* Heart palpitations, coughing, nosebleeds

* Inflammation of the nostrils

* Poor appetite and weight loss

* Slow, slurred speech

* Watery, bloodshot eyes

* Dilated pupils

Source: The Phoenix House, The Los Angeles Times.