the National Drug Commission (NDC).

And the emerging threat to the health of the Island's people could come from a number of sources in their own homes.

The NDC's research officer Julie Dunstan told The Royal Gazette that a recent survey of drug use among the Island's students showed that a number had indicated that they had experimented with drugs other than those specified in the main survey questions.

Because the question was open-ended -- "Have you used any other drugs ?'' -- and elicited vague responses, the agency can not be certain how many students are abusing household substances.

But enough people answered "yes'' for the agency to decide to include in the next student survey a more specific question which would measure the use of household inhalants.

"It is something that's beginning to happen,'' said Dr. Dunstan. "It seems to be experimented with more. But we don't know to what level.'' Sandy Butterfield, director of the drug counselling service FOCUS, said since she started working in the field in 1984, she has only encountered two cases of household inhalant abuse and that their experimentation was short-lived.

"The impact then was that they enjoyed the high but they said it wasn't long enough -- but it can do a lot of damage,'' she said.

The NDC's student drug survey is carried out every three years and initial results of the latest one, conducted in October last year, were released earlier this month.

That survey saw the addition of Ecstasy to the list of drugs specifically asked about.

Dr. Dunstan explained that Ecstasy was added because a number of students had specified it in response to the open-ended question in the 1997 survey.

The survey revealed that alcohol, tobacco and marijuana were the most popular drugs among students. Other drugs included in the survey were crack, cocaine, heroin, LSD and prescription drugs.

The survey results showed an overall decline in drug use among students since 1991 -- with the clearest decline occurring with tobacco use since 1994.

College students were not included in the survey.

In October 2003, the student survey will include a question asking about use of household inhalants such as glue, cleaners and floor finishers and strippers.

Dr. Dunstan said that the exact form of the question will depend on how it is asked in other jurisdictions, so that data can be compared easily.