TODAY   |  March 23, 2013

Parents speak out after teen dies from ‘huffing’

Aria Doherty's parents thought they'd done everything they could to keep their 14-year-old daughter safe, but they had no way of knowing her killer would be a can of computer cleaner. NBC’s Diana Alvear reports.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> a major crackdown in southern california on friday. more than a dozen businesses raided suspected of selli ining nytrus oxide as a recreational drug . that's not the only dangerous substance kids are using for a quick high. a 14-year-old honor student died this week after inhaling a common household product. her parents are speaking out hoping to avoid another tragedy.

>> reporter: 14-year-old aria was home alone for a couple hours when her older sister found the straight a honor student dead in her room holding the can of keyboard cleaner.

>> she had it attached to her mouth. she had actually taped her nostrils shot.

>> reporter: los angeles area authorities say she was huffing the cleaner. a way of getting high by inhaling things such as glue, hair spray and household cleaners. what kids may not realize is the damage they're doing to their still developing bodies.

>> brain damage is very, very common because you're inhaling it so quickly it's going right to your brain.

>> i'm positive my daughter didn't realize that it had the potential to kill her.

>> reporter: what parents may not realize is that everything about huffing is on the internet. including youtube videos demonstrating how it works. in this video a group of girls giggle as their friend apparently huffs an unidentified substance. and then doubles over.

>> hold her.

>> reporter: in another, a young man huffs twice and passes out cold.

>> we didn't know but clearly the kids know.

>> reporter: now they want other parents to talk to their kids to keep them from suffering a needless death the way they did.

>> i would prefer that she had gotten drunk and i found her throwing up and we can save her from that. i would give anything to have her back.