Sometimes Poppers Are Not Poppers: Huffing as an Emergent Health Concern Among MSM Substance Users

Abstract

While men who have sex with men (MSM) in North America have commonly used alkyl nitrite “poppers,” related to the vasodilator amyl nitrite, in sexual contexts since at least the 1970s, they do not have a significant history of using solvent or propellant inhalants, known as “huffing.” This may be changing, with some solvents being marketed as a “new form of poppers.” Huffing solvents carries considerably more health risk than using alkyl nitrite poppers, but this may not be recognized by clinicians, who usually have little knowledge of either, or MSM, who do not have a cultural history of huffing. We discuss this potential recent trend and health risks.

KEYWORDS:

• poppers
• huffing
• alkyl nitrites
• ethyl chloride
• inhalant abuse