ABUSE OF VOLATILE INHALANTS (Measures to curb)

Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law (a) if he will enlighten the House on the problem of glue-sniffing by youths, particularly in the schools; (b) what measures are being taken to discourage them from such practice; (c) whether there are programmes to rehabilitate youths with such addiction; and (d) whether the situation is under control,

Mr Wong Kan Seng (for the Minister for Home Affairs and Second Minister for Law): Mr Speaker, Sir, the abuse of volatile inhalants, commonly known as glue sniffing, was first detected in Singapore in 1980. The number of cases detected had increased from 24 in 1980 to 820 in 1983 and 812 cases in 1984.

The inhalant abuse problem is therefore increasing and is a cause for concern, although it has not reached epidemic proportions. This explains why the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association has launched a three-month island-wide campaign on llth March 1985 to inform the public, especially the parents, on the dangers and evils of inhalant abuse.

Although the abusers are not physically addicted, the increasing number of repeaters arrested shows that some of them had developed psychological dependence on inhalants. Long-term inhalant abuse leads to permanent and irreversible damage to the brain, liver and kidneys.

A study of the abusers detected from 1980 to 1984 shows that 88.7% are under 20 years of age, 20.5% of them are below 15 years old and 68.2% of them between the ages of 15 and 19. The majority of these inhalant abusers are school dropouts. The number of inhalant abuse cases who were school children detected in 1982, 1983 and 1984 were 54, 133 and 128 respectively,

Measures taken to curb the problem of inhalant abuse are as follows:

(a) Abusers who are school pupils are referred to the Guidance and Social Work Unit of the Ministry of Education for counselling and guidance.

(b) Abusers who are below 16 years of age and not schooling are referred to the Children and Youth Services of the Ministry of Community Development for counselling. They are also encouraged to join the Boys' Clubs so that they can take part in organized activities. Chronic abusers, ie, the repeaters, who are beyond parental control, are dealt with by the Juvenile Court under the Children and Young Persons Act. They may be placed by the Court in an approved home or on probation for care and protection.

(c) lnhalant abusers who are above 16 years old and not schooling are warned, together with their parents, of the dangers of inhalant abuse. Offenders with drug records are referred to the Drug Rehabilitation Centre for medical examination and observation to determine if they had relapsed to drug consumption. Habitual offenders are placed on voluntary supervision by enforcement officers.

(d) lnhalant abusers who are mentally affected by the inhalants are referred to the Woodbridge Hospital for psychiatric examination. Bad cases are warded for treatment.

An Anti-inhalant Abuse Coordination Committee comprising representatives from my Ministry, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Community Development, the Ministry of Health, SANA, SAF and Scientific Services Department, has been set up to monitor and plan strategies to solve this problem. An anti-inhalant abuse team has also been formed in the Central Narcotics Bureau to monitor all detected cases and to assist the Coordination Committee in formulating and implementing plans to curb the spread of inhalant abuse. If preventive, educative and counselling measures prove inadequate, we will consider further measures including, if necessary, legislation requiring offenders to undergo treatment and rehabilitation.

Mr Abdullah Tarmugi (Siglap): Mr Speaker, Sir, given the easy availability of inhalants to the public, does the Ministry have any long-term plans to tackle this problem of easy supply?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: . Sir, as I mentioned, there is already a Coordination Committee comprising representatives from multi-Ministries as well as an anti-inhalant abuse team in the CNB to deal with this problem. I would say that if the measures I described earlier are not adequate to deal with the problem, then we will consider other measures, including legislation.

It is not easy to stop someone from buying a can of glue or other inhalants. These things are freely and readily available in homes, factories and shops. So it is not practical to consider banning the use of such items which may lead to inhalant abuse.

Mr Ng Kah Ting (Punggol): Mr Speaker, Sir, I have two supplementary questions. First, is the question of counsellors. Can the Minister of State for Home Affairs and Community Development enlighten this House on what form of training do counsellors get? The second question is whether these counsellors are adequately trained, and how do they go about counselling the addicts?

Mr Wong Kan Seng: Mr Speaker, Sir, the inhalant abusers, who are referred to the Guidance Social Work Unit of the Ministry of Education, I believe, are counselled by professional counsellors. They are educationists as well. As for the abusers who are referred to the Ministry of Community Development, they are counselled by social workers trained in the art of counselling. So they are all professionals.

There is no other body other than these two which counsel inhalant abusers.