I just completed writing a letter to the president and CEO of Falcon Safety Products, who were the inventors of compressed-air duster.  YES, YOU HEARD IT CORRECTLY - THEY HAVE THE WORD SAFETY IN THEIR NAME.  How is that for irony?  I wrote it in response to a letter I received from him after I sent a letter to him regarding the death of my son.  Basically he said - we put bitterants in their, we support education, there are many positive uses for it, etc.  I dared him to come up with one use that was more important than the life of even one person.  I told him bitterants were only put in there to make the manufacturer feel better about marketing a lethal product.  I told him I would go to my grave begging state Attorneys General, state Departments of Consumer Protection, the US Food and Drug Administration, and whoever else I can get to listen to ban this product or delegate it to the list of controlled substances.  PLEASE - WILL YOU ALL JOIN ME IN MY CAMPAIGN?  Contact those persons in your state.  Contact the President of Falcon Safety Products at the following address:

Philip M. Lapin
Falcon Safety Products
25 ImClone Drive
PO Box 1299
Branchburg, NJ  08876-1299

Hello David, and thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. 

The addictive nature of compressed-gas dusters exceeds any other product, both legal and illegal.  After reading postings on numerous message boards, articles and the like, it has become clear to me that first-time compressed-gas duster users experience a high unlike almost any other and that the urge to use again becomes overpowering almost immediately.  I saw this first-hand in my son who first tried it at lunchtime in his car and then, instead of going to his girlfriend’s house after work for dinner, drove to a Walgreens’ and proceeded to huff gas duster in his car until he was seen and sent to a hospital.  He spoke to a rehab counselor the next day and began outpatient treatment the following week, but continued to acquire and use compressed-air duster until his death.  Nothing could make him stop.  Prior to this my son had not used or abused any substances other than alcohol.

The inclusion of a bitterant only serves to allow manufacturers to tout their concern about the safety of their product.  It does not in any way serve as a deterrent.  This is especially true when they conveniently tape those skinny little straws to the bottle to allow users to direct the product past their mouth and thus bypass most of the negative effects of the bitterant.

The can of product my son was found with had a warning on the front in three languages in at typeface of at least 20 points in size warning the consumer that the product was under pressure and therefore flammable.  The warning regarding misuse as a possible cause of injury or death was on the back in typeface no more than 6 points in size.  How many persons have died from exploding cans vs. the number who have died due to misuse?  Why isn’t the warning label for misuse displayed on the front of the can in large letters?

It has been stated that the product is used for a wide-range of applications.  I dare you to name one use that is so vital that it overshadows the loss of even a single child, parent, spouse or friend.   Can anyone rationalize growth of product sales when they know for a fact that a decent percentage of that growth is coming from purchase for misuse?  I read the results of a study done in North Carolina between 2000 and 2008 which found that death results for one in  three abusers of gas duster.  What possible use could be more important than that one chilling statistic?

You speak about the need for programs to educate the consumer about the danger and illegality of inhalant abuse.  While this may appear admirable, I spoke with the DARE officer who investigated my son’s death and volunteered to speak to the students in his district.  He advised against it because at eleven and twelve years of age hearing about something this dangerous and available presents more of an allure to the students than a deterrent.  They may hear the words detailing the negative consequences, but are at an age when that is less likely to stay with them than the words teaching them that such a powerful high is legally available to them.  

I frankly do not know what  physical danger is associated with Reddi-Whip canisters.  I DO know that gas duster can and has killed during the first use.  I sadly know first hand how quickly and highly addictive it is.  I know that sales are seriously increased because a large number of purchasers are users.  I also know that there are no safeguards to insure that sales to minors do not take place.

I am writing this for Tylersmom and the others who have replied to her posts. First let me say my heart goes out to both Tylersmom and Cerrick and all the others here who have lost someone to huffing. I also know the pain. I lost my son Kyle on March 2^nd 2005. My wife went to wake him up for school and found him sitting up in bed with a can of Dust Off in his lap and a red straw sticking out of his mouth. It was the worst day of my life.

          Since that day I have learned a lot about inhalant abuse. I now give talks about inhalant abuse all over the country and I would like to share some of what I have learned and what I try to teach to others. I also want to correct a statement that was said but was not true. I am doing this because it is very important to me and I think everyone will understand once they read it.

          When Kyle first died I also wanted to ban Computer dusters. Then I learned that there are over 1400 different everyday household products that are abused as inhalants. There are well over 50 products right now on the shelves that use the exact same propellant as the computer dusters. How do we ban just one? I do know from being a police officer users will just go to a different product for their high. It won’t stop the abusers from getting high; it will only make them change the product that they are using. So how do we stop or slow down inhalant abuse. Study upon study show that the best way to fight inhalant abuse is through education. We must teach as many people as we can about how deadly inhalant abuse is. Many people, especially children, think it can’t hurt them. Hell, we teach them this ourselves when there little. How many of us have or have seen an adult take a balloon and then talk funny in front of kids. I’m sure most of you know what I’m talking about without me going further into it. What did we just teach them? What we have to teach everyone is that most inhalants are a poison. They not only can hurt you, they will the very first time you use them. This will cut down on inhalant use and deaths.

          I am sure very few know that there is NO federal money earmarked for Inhalant abuse education. If were lucky, there are some trickle down funds that were assigned to overall drug abuse. What we need to be doing is calling our Congressman and demanding money for inhalant abuse education. Inhalant abuse is not dealt with in the Boy Scout handbook. It’s not in the Dare programs. It’s just not anywhere. We have to educate. This I can tell you. Most parents don’t know the signs of inhalant abuse. Most teachers don’t know the signs of inhalant abuse. Most Paramedics, Police Officers, Firefighter and Doctors don’t know the signs of inhalant abuse.

          I agree the fight here is huge. But with so few people and with so few resources to fight inhalant abuse we can’t afford to not be on a united front. It is undisputed that education will have the biggest effect on slowing inhalant abuse and that there is almost no money out there to fund any education programs. I honestly believe that this is what we need to be fighting for.

          I add this next part because it is important to me. I am sure you will understand if you read it. A few months after Kyle died I did a series of interviews. At this time there were no bitterants being added to any Duster products. This was one of the main points I was screaming about to anyone who would listen. There needed to be a bitterant added to this product. I fought and fought for it. Approximately six months after Kyle’s death I called Falcon (Dust Off) and spoke with Phil Lapin (CEO). I strongly expressed my feelings about adding a bitterant. Phil Lapin advised me that since Kyle’s death they were again going to try to add a bitterant to their product. Approximately six months later they succeeded. I have always felt that this was now part of Kyle’s legacy and it makes me feel as if Kyle didn’t die for nothing. I also have realized since this that while adding a bitterant will stop some from abusing dusters it will not stop all or maybe even most but I am sure it has made some difference.

          I also want to say this so everyone knows. I have worked with many people, organizations and company’s that help me give talks on inhalant abuse. I receive no money from any of them now nor never have or will. They do sometimes pay my travel expenses, (air and hotel) when I give a talk. I will list just a few that are related to this:

Falcon Safety Supply, (Dust Off ) limited and in the years right after Kyle’s death.

Alliance for Consumer Education.(ACE)  This site.  I am on the Board of Trustee’s and am setting up a resource site through them where people can go to get the basic very important information on inhalants and where people who have lost a love one to inhalants can post a web page to them.

National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.

I would gladly work with anyone who I believe really cares about stopping inhalant abuse deaths. Yes, that includes Falcon. I don’t care who they are as long as they are doing it for the right reasons. I would also stop working with anyone who I felt started acting in a self serving way or was using me to try to legitimize them. 

tylersmom- I agree with you again. My sister also learned of inhaling the computer duster from the "Allison" Intervention episode. And they did air the response episode after my sister passed. I wholeheartedly believe she would still be here if she hadn't seen that. My sister suffered from depression too, and was desperately trying to get better. I just want you to know I understand where you are coming from.

I am sorry I did not post back sooner but I was on vacation.  I don’t think anyone but a select few of us who have lost love ones to this can fully understand your anger. I also felt all that you are feeling after Kyle’s death. Its part of what you go through when you lose someone. I have been told that this is what we all have to work through when we lose someone. And the more unexpected the loss is the harder this process is. All I know is this process stinks because it hurts so much and it doesn’t bring him, Kyle, back.  Having gone through some of this process ahead of you I do understand somewhat where you are at right now. I will never claim to understand your pain as I do not believe anyone could understand mine, although you and some others, I am sure, can get a lot closer than most. I also understand your desire to get rid of the product that your son used, and that killed him.  The problem is that he made the decision to abuse the product. What if it was gasoline that he had used? Or propane? Would you try to get them off the market?  I am only trying to make the point to you here. The product that is in dust off is also in many other products.  Do we ban all of them? Do you not think that the people who abuse dust off would not just switch to the other products?  There are hundreds of them! So what should we do? How can we change this? How can we stop this from happening? Well, we can’t totally. There are those who will learn of this and do it, Period.  And some will die. But one way has been proven to reduce the number of deaths from inhalant abuse. And that is educating people on it. Yes, I know that this will introduce some people to it but it will also make many, many, more stay away from it. I will continue to talk to anyone who will listen to me about inhalant abuse. I have no doubt that by doing this I will save more lives. Many more lives, than those you think I introduce to it. I, along with my family, was on the A&E program where you said your son learned how to inhale from computer dusters. I just can’t imagine how after watching the show he would make the decision to abuse inhalants? The entire show was about the pain that inhalants could, do, could cause. I have no doubt that many more people have stayed away from them because of the show that those who have done them. Unfortunately, there will always be the few that will do it no matter what. I don’t know about you, but I never sat down and talked with Kyle about inhalant abuse. I WISH I HAD. The most I could have given him was the ability to make the right decision with the correct information. Not the wrong information that he had from a friend down the street. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have done it, but it DOES mean he would have been less likely to. Again, please, when you are ready to, contact me and help me spread the word on inhalant abuse so we can save as many lives as possible.

Jeff Williams

Streetcop63@aol.com