"Chasing the dragon" (CTD) (), or "foily" in Australian English, refers to inhaling the vapor from a heated solution of a powdered

psychoactive drug A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, psychoactive agent or psychotropic drug is a chemical substance, that changes functions of the nervous system, and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior. ...

on a sheet of aluminum foil. The moving vapor is chased after with a tube (often rolled foil) through which the user inhales. The "chasing" occurs as the user gingerly keeps the liquid moving in order to keep it from overheating and burning up too quickly, on a heat conducting material such as

aluminium foil Aluminium foil (or aluminum foil in North American English; often informally called tin foil) is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves with a thickness less than ; thinner gauges down to are also commonly used. Standard household foil is typ ...

. Another use of the term "chasing the dragon" refers to the elusive pursuit of a high equal to the user’s first in the use of a drug, which after acclimation is no longer achievable. Used in this way, “chasing the dragon” can refer to any recreational drug administered by any means.

Etymology

Chasing the dragon is a

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

phrase of

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

origin from

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The Hong Kong film

Chasing the Dragon "Chasing the dragon" (CTD) (), or "foily" in Australian English, refers to inhaling the vapor from a heated solution of a powdered psychoactive drug on a sheet of aluminum foil. The moving vapor is chased after with a tube (often rolled foil) ...

is named from the origin of the etymology.

Cultural aspects

Aluminum foil is considered to be low-quality

drug paraphernalia "Drug paraphernalia" is a term to denote any equipment, product or accessory that is intended or modified for making, using or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes. Drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamin ...

. It is commonly associated with

drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

. Hard drugs that are commonly inhaled this way include but are not limited to

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

fentanyl Fentanyl, also spelled fentanil, is a very potent synthetic opioid used as a pain medication. Together with other drugs, fentanyl is used for anesthesia. It is also used illicitly as a recreational drug, sometimes mixed with heroin, cocaine ...

oxycodone Oxycodone, sold under various brand names such as Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended release form), is a strong, semi-synthetic opioid used medically for treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and a commonly ...

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

, and

ya ba ''Ya ba'' ( th, :wikt:ยาบ้า, ยาบ้า, lo, ຢາບ້າ, literally 'crazy medicine'), formerly known as ''yama'' ( th, :wikt:ยาม้า, ยาม้า; literally 'horse drug'), also known as "bikers' coffee" and "kamika ...

(a pill containing

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...

and

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...

Advantages

This method of intake significantly decreases or eliminates certain risks of heroin use, such as the transmission of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...

, and other

blood-borne disease A blood-borne disease is a disease that can be spread through contamination by blood and other body fluids. Blood can contain pathogens of various types, chief among which are microorganisms, like bacteria and parasites, and non-living infectious ...

s through

needle sharing Needle sharing is the practice of intravenous drug-users by which a needle or syringe is shared by multiple individuals to administer intravenous drugs such as heroin, steroids, and hormones. This is a primary vector for blood-borne diseases which ...

, the introduction of skin bacteria to the bloodstream due to non-sterile injection, and the stress that injection puts on veins.

Oral administration Oral administration is a route of administration where a substance is taken through the mouth. Per os abbreviated to P.O. is sometimes used as a direction for medication to be taken orally. Many medications are taken orally because they are in ...

may also eliminate these risks, but the high is much less intense and longer.

Risks

It is always harmful to expose the lungs to any kind of smoke or heated vapor.

Drug overdose

drug overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

caused by chasing the dragon is hard to predict because this technique does not deliver a standardized dosage. It is virtually impossible even for skilled users to know how much of the substance has been evaporated, burned, and inhaled. These combined factors may create a false sense of security when a given dose seems safe to repeat, but may cause an overdose when all the factors are randomly excluded. A

vaporizer Vaporizer or vaporiser may refer to: *Anesthetic vaporizer, a device used in the administration of anesthesia * Electronic cigarette, or a part of one (often called a "PV" or "personal vaporizer") *Humidifier, a household appliance that increases ...

is a safer drug paraphernalia than aluminum foil.

Lung cancer from natural talc

Talc is an

excipient An excipient is a substance formulated alongside the active ingredient of a medication, included for the purpose of long-term stabilization, bulking up solid formulations that contain potent active ingredients in small amounts (thus often referred ...

often used in pharmaceutical

tablet Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the s ...

s. Also,

illicit drug The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary legislation or religious law is a common means of attempting to prevent the recreational use of certain intoxicating substances. While some drugs are illegal to possess, many governments regulate the ...

s that occur as white powder in their pure form are often

cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...

with cheap

talc Talc, or talcum, is a Clay minerals, clay mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thi ...

. Natural talc is cheap but contains

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

while asbestos-free talc is more expensive. Talc that has asbestos is generally accepted as being able to cause

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

if it is inhaled. The evidence about asbestos-free talc is less clear, according to the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

. Talc can be avoided by dissolving the substance in water, filtering and discarding non-dissolving particles with a syringe, and evaporating the water of the dissolved substances.

Substance specific

Heroin

Inhaling heroin appears to rarely lead to

toxic leukoencephalopathy Toxic leukoencephalopathy is a rare condition that is characterized by progressive damage (-pathy) to white matter (-leuko-) in the brain (-encephalo-), particularly myelin, due to causes such as exposure to substance use, environmental toxins, or ...

. There are also documented cases of both severe acute

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

and exacerbation of underlying asthma caused by heroin inhalation, potentially resulting in death.

References

{{Drug use Drug culture Cantonese words and phrases Drug paraphernalia Opium culture