New Trend: "Huffing" Refrigerant to get High
Potentially fatal consequences.
Unfortunately an emerging trend is for those seeking a ‘high’ to huff the refrigerant out of your home’s central air conditioning system.
Most may be familiar with the huffing of aerosols. In this case an individual sprays the contents of a can of spray paint into a paper lunch bag and then quickly holds the bag over their mouth and nose and inhales – or huffs – the gases into their lungs.
Now they’re doing it by pressing their mouths against the valves on your air conditioning system. Much like a bicycle tire, one simply presses on the valve to release the gas. And just like the spray paint, they inhale the gaseous fumes.
This can have deadly consequences.
The state of New Jersey has revised the Uniform Construction Code to require locking caps be installed on all new systems to prevent unauthorized access to your cooling system’s refrigerant.
Click on the following link to read a recent article on this issue from the New York Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/teens-huffing-freon-air-conditioning-units-experts-article-1.1094953
