Bettendorf is getting serious about cracking down on huffers - people who inhale fumes to get high. And they're aiming at more than the usual aerosol sprays.
The city is changing its law regarding what chemicals cannot be inhaled. In the past, the ordinance listed the names of ingredients found in many household items, such as toluene or toluol, xylene or xylol, acetone, acetate, hexane or ketone. Such chemicals are found in paint thinners, adhesives and household cleaners that come in aerosol cans.
The new ordinance, which had its first reading at the Sept. 1 City Council meeting, replaces that language with "No person shall knowingly smell or inhale the fumes of toxic vapors, whether synthetic or organic, for the purpose of causing a condition of euphoria, excitement, exhilaration, stupefaction, or dulled senses of the nervous system."
Merely possessing such items will not be illegal, but possessing them with the intent to inhale the substances would be unlawful.
"Lt. Tom Mack felt there was a need to make our ordinance more simple and more general so that any item that is being used other than for the purpose that it was meant to be used for would be illegal," Bettendorf Police Chief Phil Redington said.
Redington said the city decided to add "organic" to the law because they have heard of people huffing something known as "jenkem." That is a gas produced by allowing feces and urine to ferment in a jar in the sun, then people suck the gas out with a balloon, he said.
Although the Bettendorf police never have encountered such an incident within the city limits, Mack thought "organic" should be added to the ordinance anyway.
"As I called around to other cities to check on their ordinances, everybody said, "That is disgusting, but good luck,'" City Attorney Greg Jager said.
Jager said other cities in the area list the names of specific chemicals, like Bettendorf currently does. Redington said Bettendorf is being a "trendsetter" with the ordinance. "We want to address it and hopefully get a hand on it."
The ordinance must be read three times to become law. The charge is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500 or a 30-day jail sentence.
A more imminent danger posed to huffers comes from a common computer keyboard cleaner such as Dust-Off, Redington said. Three juveniles have been arrested for huffing the substance this year alone, and as recently as last week, the police department took a report from someone who said they know of a juvenile abusing the substance.
In one instance, a passer-by on the riverfront bike path observed two girls huffing the substance under the Interstate 74 bridge. They had sprayed it onto a knit cap.
In another incident, a juvenile was caught after stealing the substance from Hy-Vee and was observed spraying the chemical directly into his nose, Mack said.
In the past, the police department has arrested people for huffing paint and glue, but the Dust-Off is a new phenomenon, Redington said.
Dr. Arthur Gillen, clinical manager of outpatient substance abuse services at Robert Young Center/Riverside in Rock Island, said he has not seen many cases of huffing but is sure it happens in the Quad-Cities. He thinks it's mostly popular with children ages 12-16.
"I think they do more of that only because they're young, and they can't make contact with the drug users. Some are just curious because they hear about it, and there may be some things they can get into at home."
He said he has heard of the recent Dust-Off abuse. Huffing even once can kill someone, he added.
"It's a sort of suffocation that happens," Gillen said. "The most serious consequences are permanent damage to the brain and other organs of the body."
