No high from sniff of new petrol

Lives will be saved by the introduction of a new fuel designed to combat petrol sniffing, a member of a Territory indigenous community said yesterday.

The new fuel, which was launched yesterday, contains no lead and has only very low levels of the aromatic hydrocarbon that gives petrol sniffers their “high”.

Janet Inyika from the Alice Springs-based Ngaanyatjaarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council said the fuel will have an immediate impact on reducing petrol sniffing and save lives.

“Petrol sniffing is a huge problem in our communities,” she said through an interpreter.

“We think if suddenly sniffable petrol is not available… the addicts are not going to want to sniff it, and even if they do try, nothing’s going to happen and there’s going to be an immediate improvement in what is a terribly bad problem.

“Of course, we have a number of different kinds of sniffers [and] some of them are already seriously ill and have permanent disabilities… nothing is going to help those.

“But the new recruits – well there are going to be no new recruits, we hope, with this new fuel.”

The fuel, known as Opal and developed by BP, is currently being supplied to 37 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities at a comparable price to normal unleaded petrol.

Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott said petrol sniffing was a serious problem that had caused more than 100 deaths in indigenous communities since 1981.

The Government will spend $1 million a year supplying the fuel to remote communities where petrol sniffing is a problem but Mr Abbott yesterday rejected calls to supply the petrol right across Central Australia.

“I can understand why people would like to do that but the issue becomes where do you stop,” Mr Abbott said.

“We can’t convert the whole of Australia’s petrol supplies to Opal.”

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: 19th February 2005
Author: Lauren Ahwan
Source: Northern Territory News
Website: http://www.ntnews.com.au
Email: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au