Naresh Newar's 'Glued to the streets' (#176) brings welcome light to a problem which is familiar to anyone who walks city streets. Newar is correct in saying that the children who sniff glue do so to escape hunger, cold and loneliness. However, I would be concerned if your readers mistakenly believed that the solution lies only in controlling access to glue. Street children without glue will still be street children, and they will continue to be hungry, cold and alone. Given the range of common consumer goods that can be inhaled for a cheap and quick 'high', controlling glue would take a lot of effort and produce little in the way of results. The answer lies in combining product control, prevention and treatment, with the opportunity for street children to build a life worth living. And this ultimately means that we all need to take responsibility for these children and acknowledge a shared humanity.

Brian Gilligan,
Patan