A total of 25 people attended the emergency department in 2012 for abuse of volatile substances, compared with 20 up until last week.

The statistics have still increased since 2009, but are lower than recent Townsville figures that show their presentation rates have multiplied by 15 in the past five years.

Young People Ahead volatile substance misuse program manager Liz Toeke said the age range of people chroming depended on the ease of the substance and different peer groups, but generally YPA saw people between 12 and 17 years old, with an average of 13 to 14-year-olds engaging in the habit.

``There seems to be a lot of conversation indicating spikes in VSM right now, which is not the case,'' she said.

``Yes, there is an increase in activity, however, not in the amount of individuals.

``The service and other key stakeholders are seeing the same cohort of young people on a more regular basis.''

Ms Toeke said the use of solvents such as glue, petrol and deodorant was cyclic and the organisation had changed its service model to represent that.

``The service has had to be flexible in its approaches to targeting VSM, especially increasing capacity to working better with retailers around supply reduction and making it harder for young people to   obtain substances,'' she said.

``Whilst we focus on the needs of young people at peak periods the service often varies to accommodate the ever-changing cyclic patterns and trends of the community.''

 Ms Toeke said YPA has changed shifts to include night outreach to reflect changes in public concern and patterns of use.