TWO strikes and you're in.

A stint in the Anti-Inhalant Abuse Centre (IAC) is what a glue sniffer, caught a second time, can expect.

The centre - gearing up to handle the rising number of glue-sniffers - has unveiled measures to beef up its programmes.

These will emphasise tailored treatment, after-care support and relapse prevention.

The IAC, located at Selarang Park Drug Rehabilitation Centre, deals specifically with inhalant abusers. They are sent there by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) after they have been caught a second time.

The CNB recently said that the number of inhalant abusers caught rose to 644 last year, from 403 in 2006 and an all-time low of 120 in 2005. At its peak in 1987, 1,112 abusers were caught.

In 2007, there were 39 inmates at the IAC. In the first four months of this year alone, 24 abusers have already been admitted.

Abusers will go through an interview with one of the centre's 10 counsellors upon admission.

From this month, a counsellor will assess the abuser's risks and needs to tailor a suitable treatment plan, with a standardised assessment tool.

Read the full story in tomorrow's edition of The Sunday Times.