Seeking cure for solvent-addicted ‘rugby boys and girls’

By Henrylito D. Tacio

They are called “rugby boys” – although girls can also be seen with them. They are called as such because they are addicted to “rugby,” a brand of contact cement manufactured by Bostik. Generally, rugby is used by Filipinos as adhesive.

“Estimated to number in the thousands nationwide, these young people eventually develop a physiological addition and resort to begging, scavenging, or stealing not only to quell their huger but also to sustain their toluene addition,” said a statement from the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Science.

Most of these rugby boys and girls are actually street children, which were first seen in the 1980s. In 2022, there were more than 246,000 street children in the country. “Efforts were being made to manage those numbers and rescue the children and integrate them back into society,” said the United Nations Human Rights.

These street children are homeless and living without parents or guardians. They are left to fend themselves. As such, one of the greatest challenges that street children go through is hunger.

To ease hunger, some of them resort to inhaling rugby and other solvents. “They go for rugby because it’s affordable,” an official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region VII told Philippine Star. “They can’t afford food, and it’s easier for them to buy rugby than food like pandesal. And they can go without food for 24 hours.”

A study done by the World Health Organization (WHO) on solvent abuse has included the Philippines. Rugby use was evident among those in the poverty line and was singled out as one of the major problems of the country.

The Dangerous Drugs Board has identified rugby as one of the top three drugs of choice of Filipino drug users, particularly among street children. Rugby boys and girls place the chemical in a plastic bag and inhale from the bag to achieve euphoria.

“The impoverished population is the most common victim of addiction to dangerous and illegal substances,” Wikipedia said. “Once they are ‘high,’ they forget their hunger. Others become addicted because of family problems, poor self-esteem, and peer pressure.”

But using rugby and other inhalants have a high price. “Inhalant use can cause damage to the heart, kidneys, brain, liver, bone marrow and other organs,” pointed out Foundation for a Drug-Free World on its website.

“Inhalants starve the body of oxygen and force the heart to beat irregularly and more rapidly,” the foundation explained. “Users can experience nausea and nosebleeds and lose their sense of hearing or smell.

“Chronic use can lead to muscle wasting and reduced muscle tone, and the poisonous chemicals gradually damage the lungs and the immune system,” the foundation added.

Inhalant users are at risk of sudden sniffing death syndrome. “Death can occur the first time or the hundredth time an inhalant is used,” the foundation said.

As a response to widespread abuse of toluene-based substances, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has imposed stricter rules – like the mandatory addition of mustard oil as a sniffling deterrent – on the manufacture and sale of rugby and similar glues. For one, those who buy rugby are now required to present valid identification.

Scientists from across the University of the Philippines (UP) are pioneering a first-of-its kind multidisciplinary study into the chemical, physical and psychological impacts of solvent abuse on the country’s thousands of rugby boys and girls.

“Attempts to treat toluene or ‘rugby’ addition have been largely unsuccessful due to severe withdrawal and craving symptoms that trigger relapse,” said Dr. Rohani Cena-Navarro, program leader and is connected with the UP Manila National Institutes of Health (UPM-NIH). “What is needed to help adolescents overcome their addictions are new treatments that reduce toluene withdrawal and craving.”

The three-year program is called Novel Approaches to Treatment of Addition and Depression using Animal Models; it is spearheaded by UPM-NIH. Dr. Gregory Quirk, an internationally-renowned neurobehavioral scientist from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, is supervising the study.

Also involved in the study are the National Center for Mental Health, the UP College of Medicine, the UP Philippine General Hospital, and the UP Diliman College of Science Institute of Chemistry.

The research is being supported by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), a line agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

“Rodent models have been used to develop such pharmacological treatments for other addictive drugs, but no such model has been developed for toluene,” said Dr. Cena-Navarro. “This collaboration between scientists and clinicians hopes to address this societal problem using laboratory animals.”

Those involved in the study said substance abuse among street children is a long-standing societal issue that requires public health intervention. “Acknowledging the need for local research to tackle inhalant abuse among adolescents will be very significant in providing recommendations and strengthening ongoing support systems, policies, and interventions,” they said.

Thus, the first Addiction Research Laboratory in the country, using animal models, came into existence.

“In the years to come, it is our hope that the establishment of this Addiction Research Program will further open opportunities for research addressing the craving and withdrawal stages of addition,” said UP-CS IC’s Dr. Grace Gregorio, who is researching how toluene affects rats in an effort to understand the solvent’s effects on people.

The project is now in its second year and it has already completed its first two phases: identifying validated methods to quantify toluene in rodent blood and establishing the long-term effects of toluene after chronic exposure.

Using validated methods, the team is investigating the effects of chronic exposure that last long after the drug has been withdrawn. These include increased craving for the drug, increased anxiety, and impaired social functioning, all of which increase the likelihood of relapse following treatment.

Novel treatments will be tested to diminish these withdrawal symptoms and restore the brain to its pre-addiction state.

“By the end of the project, we hope to have developed tailored treatments for boys and girls who are addicted to toluene,” the researchers said. – ###