Petrol Sniffing Interventions Among Australian Indigenous Communities Through Product Substitution: From Skunk Juice to Opal

Abstract

Inhalation of petrol (gasoline) fumes has been prevalent in some Australian Indigenous communities since World War II, and has led to a continuing quest for an effective method of preventing the practice either by modifying the substance or by substituting nonharmful alternatives. This article traces the results of this search, beginning with the addition of ethyl mercaptan, then describing the substitution of aviation fuel for conventional vehicle fuel, and concluding with the staged introduction of Opal—a vehicle fuel containing low levels of aromatic hydrocarbons—throughout many communities from 2005. The article assesses the benefits and limitations of supply reduction methods.

Keywords :

• petrol sniffing
• gasoline sniffing
• Australian Indigenous
• Opal fuel
• product modification
• volatile substance misuse
• harm reduction
• supply reduction

THE AUTHORS

Peter d'Abbs, Ph.D., is a Professor of Substance Misuse Studies at the Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia. He holds adjunct appointments with the National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, and with the James Cook University, Queensland. He is a sociologist with a long-standing research background in substance misuse policy issues and in program evaluation. Recent projects include a review of interventions into volatile substance misuse (co-authored with Dr Sarah MacLean), recently revised and expanded and published as National Drug Strategy Monograph No. 65, and an evaluation of the impact of rolling out Opal fuel as a prevention measure in 20 remote Indigenous communities with a history of petrol sniffing. In 2007, Dr. d'Abbs was placed on the Honor Roll of the National Drug and Alcohol Awards.

Sarah MacLean, Ph.D., is a sociologist with sustained interest in analyzing and contributing to the development of health and welfare policy, particularly as it affects marginalized and young people and users of alcohol and other drugs. In 2007, Sarah completed her Ph.D. research, a qualitative and interpretative study of the meanings of inhalant use and of associated policy and intervention in Australia. She is currently employed as a Research Fellow in Alcohol and Drug Studies at Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre and the University of Melbourne, in Australia. Sarah is now working on an Australian Research Council Linkage Project investigating the patterns and cultures that influence alcohol use by young Australians.