Andre Mclachlan
Pai Ake Solutions Limited

"When you have people with spray paint on their face it's usually the opposite of what a tagger is doing."

IDENTIFYING VOLATILE SUBSTANCES ABUSERS

People who abuse volatile substances generally fall into two categories. Those aged between 10 and 16 who are going through an experimental, temporary phase, and chronic users who abuse volatile substances on an ongoing basis.

Experimental users usually hang out in groups while chronic users tend to be loners. Unfortunately volatile substance abusers are not always easy to identify by appearance alone so look out for signs of behaviour that might indicate a person is buying a substance to inhale.

LOOK OUT FOR:

• People hanging around the areas where volatile substances are displayed (particularly spray paints, lighter fluids, glue and other solvents)
• Young people in your store when they should be in school
• Frequent purchases of a similar volatile substance by the same person
• Requests for a particular colour (usually metallic) of spray paint that doesn't conform to the reason for purchase
• Traces of, or the smell of a volatile substances (e.g. paint) on the person's clothes
• Red eyes, heightened colouring of the skin (looks like they're blushing), reddened spots around the mouth and nose, uncontrolled, excessive giggling and rowdy, silly or aggressive behaviour
• A request for plastic bags/carry bags when a customer purchases volatile substances, particularly when combined with any of the above factors.