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More than a third of children and some as young as 13 have smoked the native samsum ant as a substitute for illegal substances such as marijuana, a senior UAE health official has warned. Smoking the red ant gives a similar sensation to smoking marijuana and sniffing glue because of the high concentration of formic acid found in the ants. It is not illegal to smoke the ants, and a small packet is said to sell for Dh400 in Dubai. People smoke the ants because they are cheaper and safer - in the eyes of the law - than smoking narcotics, said a senior police spokesman. It is also widely available, if not easily purchased. Formic acid, from the Latin word for ant, formica, is a combustible liquid that produces poisonous gases when heated up. Health professionals say the long-term effects of smoking the red ants could vary from lung fibrosis to kidney failure and damage to the central nervous system.