The estimated number of street children in Nepal ranges between 3100 to 5000, increasing at the rate of 1000 children taking to the streets every year. Drug addiction and glue sniffing are a relatively new phenomenon among street children in Nepal.
The low price of the drug (between 20-30 rupees) and its easy availability have significantly contributed to the dramatic increase of this damaging behavior. The most common form of glue used by children in called Dendrite. This substance is used for sticking rubber and is easily available at any hardware or shoe repair shops. Children as young as 5-17 years have been known to smoke this form of glue.
Some reports state that around 95 per cent street children sniff dendrite. Some children use as many as 15 tubes a day (1 tube of dendrite can be used around 4-5 times). Many even use dendrite as a substitute for regular meals. The initial use is generally due to peer pressure but children get easily addicted. They also use it to ward off hunger.

Inhaling dendrite has anesthetic effects on the user, causing a slowdown in the body’s function. Users may feel slightly stimulated at lower doses and they may lose their consciousness at higher doses.
The immediate negative effects of dendrite can be nausea, sneezing, coughing, bleeding noses, exhaustion, bad breath, and loss of appetite. Deep breathing of the Dendrite or using a lot over a short period of time may result in losing touch with one’s surroundings, violent behavior, loss of self -control unconsciousness or death. Long-term use can cause muscle fatigue, weight loss, electrolyte imbalance, exhaustion, and later, permanent damage to liver, kidneys, blood and bone marrow and the nervous system.
This form of glue is not only easily available but is also legal and therefore can be purchased at a very low cost. The long term negative impact of such drug abuse can cause permanent damage to the child and may even lead to death.

Drug Control Laws in Nepal

Nepal's basic drug law is the Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act, 2033 (1976). Under this law, the cultivation, production, preparation, manufacture, export, import, purchase, possession, sale or consumption of most commonly abused drugs is illegal. The Narcotic Drug Control Act, Amended last in 1993, implements most of the UN Single Convention and the 1972 Protocol by addressing narcotics production, manufacture, sales, import and exports for Nepal has developed in association with the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) a master plan for drug abuse control.
The Narcotic Drug Control Act was formulated in order to address the problem of Cannabis manufacture and use in Nepal. Nepal, does not yet have a more updated law to combat recent forms of drug abuse such as glue sniffing.