What do you do to have fun on weekends? If you have read a newspaper lately there have been many articles on inhalant abuse, mainly gas sniffing that young people do to "have a good time." But if that is what they call entertaining themselves, it does not sound very cool to me. Inhaling substances is not a good idea at all, and people who do it could lose their friends and family in addition to getting permanent brain damage. Besides, there are plenty of other interesting things to do other than getting high.

One scary thought about inhaling is how it makes people look and what it does to your body. I, personally, have seen and spoke with a chronic sniffer. This person had pimples all over her face, dark bags underneath her eyes, had very slow response time, and really didn't take care of herself. This person did not look like a basket of satisfactory fruit. Another frightening outlook on inhaling is that it causes brain damage or death through sudden heart attacks if people overdose with sniffing. Sorry, but I prefer clearheaded people.

Besides making you look terrible, sniffing can lead to loss of friends and family. Truthfully, would you want to hang out with someone who you don't understand at all? Most of the time inhalers are so high from the fumes even the simplest things don't make sense to them. Their mood swings and bad tempers drive everybody up the wall. I've read that some parents don't want their children around because the get too abusive and uncontrollable. So the parents end up either kicking their kids out of the house or sending them away to a treatment center. The last place I would want to end up is someplace where I don't know anybody.

Rather than looking bad and feeling rejected, wouldn't you much rather feel part of the "in crowd"? I sure would. And there are tons of things to do rather than inhale. Getting involved in sports is a great way to stay healthy and keep away from bad habits. I would rather play basketball instead of doing something that could harm my body. Wouldn't you? Other options are fishing, hunting, camping, walking, or getting involved with what's happening in your community. It really isn't that hard to find something to do once you set your mind to it.

So if you want to look gross, act dumb, and feel rejected maybe inhaling substances are for you. But if you are like any other person I know and want to be liked and accepted by people, then staying away from those dangerous inhalants is the best idea. I know I'm never going to get seduced by any harmful fumes, and anybody with a little common sense won't either.