The legislature finds:

A. that the deliberate inhalation of certain aerosol products has become so widespread in this state, particularly among children and young adults from low-income backgrounds, that it is now a leading drug problem in some areas; that an increasing number of individuals have died from such deliberate inhalation; that other known effects from such deliberate inhalation are permanent brain, lung, liver and kidney damage; that the best available scientific information indicates the specific components of aerosol spray products which are dangerous, and that, therefore, the deliberate inhalation of aerosol spray products presents an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens, and future citizens, of this state; and

B. that available scientific information indicates a substantial possibility that fluoroalkanes, a major component of certain aerosol spray products, when discharged into the atmosphere, dissipate or impair the earth's protective layer of ozone; that the dissipation or impairment of even a small portion of the ozone layer is likely to decrease the screening of ultraviolet radiation; that any significant increase in human exposure to ultraviolet radiation is likely to increase the risk of skin cancer and other serious illness; that any significant increase in exposure of the environment to ultraviolet radiation may endanger the environment; and that therefore, the release of these aerosol spray products into the atmosphere is a significant hazard to the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens, and future citizens, of this state.

History: 1978 Comp., § 74-5-1, enacted by Laws 1977, ch. 384, § 1.