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Governments want to regulate nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, a party drug used by young adults in the United States and Europe. Here’s what you need to know.
I was 17 the first (and only) time I used laughing gas — nitrous oxide — for fun. I was with some friends who showed me it was sold at the grocery store.
As an anxious teen, I was wary, but the fact that it was legally available to buy in supermarkets helped ease my concerns. If it was really so harmful, I thought, surely it wouldn’t be available for anyone to buy.
Health experts say this is a common myth about the party drug. Kids are often told by their peers that laughing gas won’t harm them. They may believe it because there are no warnings on cans of whipped cream in stores. You don’t need to find a dealer or be 21 years old to get this substance.
Many teens don’t realize that laughing gas is dangerous
In 2018, a report published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry reported that 92% of teenagers in the UK who had heard of laughing gas were “not aware of any side effects” associated with its use.
Now, governments are moving to regulate the substance. The U.K. passed a law banning nitrous oxide in 2023. In the Netherlands it is classified as a drug. And recently in May 2024, Louisiana became the first U.S. state to ban the sale of laughing gas in retail. German regulators are also considering a ban.
But why? Why is nitrous oxide dangerous? Here’s what you should know about laughing gas and how it can affect your health.
What is laughing gas and why is it widely available?
Laughing gas is a colloquial term for nitrous oxide, which is a transparent gas.
It is used in medicine to comfort patients, for example, when their wisdom teeth are being removed, or during childbirth.
Nitrous oxide can cause a euphoric feeling, which users describe as “lightheaded.” You may feel light-headed, dizzy, or confused.
When used recreationally, the effects of the gas are short-lived, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute. Users may inhale it multiple times in a single session.
In addition to its use in the medical field, nitrous oxide is also used to make whipped cream, so it’s readily available at your local grocery store.
These canisters are reportedly also sold at kiosks and corner stores across Europe, and at vape shops in the US.
Health experts say they have noticed a surge in the number of vendors selling nitrous oxide since 2017. That’s according to Devan Mair of N2O: Know the Risks, a student campaign at Queen Mary University of London.
N₂O is the chemical formula for nitrous oxide – a compound of two nitrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.
Can nitrous oxide be addictive?
Although health experts say that most people who use laughing gas use it only occasionally, some studies have shown that some people become addicted to it. But the evidence for this is limited.
Researchers attempted to determine whether nitrous oxide could be addictive through an evaluation of the evidence, a so-called meta study published in October 2023 in the journal Addiction.
They found that, although research is sparse, what has been published points to “consistent evidence for the presence of at least four substance abuse disorder criteria in heavy N2O.” [nitrous oxide] users.”
The authors concluded that nitrous oxide “may be addictive.” They recommended that it should be viewed as a “potentially addictive substance” until further evaluation was done.
How common is the use of laughing gas?
Recreational use of nitrous oxide varies between countries.
The UK, for example, has reported some of the highest levels of illicit use: a British government report in 2020 warned that nitrous oxide ranked second on the list of most commonly used recreational drugs among people aged 16 to 24.
People in other European countries and the United States also use the substance for intoxication, and the number of these users is reportedly increasing.
A 2018 study on nitrous oxide use in China found that teens learned the habit from their peers studying abroad. The sale of nitrous oxide for recreational use is banned in Australia and Japan.
Research on the drug’s ubiquity in places like India, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa is largely non-existent.
What are the negative side effects of laughing gas?
In addition to the initial short-term effects described above, regular use of laughing gas can also lead to neurological complications.
Maier told DW that excessive use of nitrous oxide can inactivate vitamin B12, which helps form myelin.
Myelin, or the myelin sheath, is a protective layer on nerves — including nerves in the brain and spinal cord. When myelin fails to form, a person’s nerves can be damaged, resulting in numbness, pins and needles in the hands and feet, loss of balance, and general weakness.
Mair said such cases are common in the UK: “At the Royal London Hospital in east London, in February 2023, there was one case of nitrous oxide-related nerve damage every nine days.”
Experts say that if a person who has overdosed on nitrous oxide begins to show severe symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, they should seek immediate emergency care.
According to a 2023 report on nitrous oxide published by the British government, these warning symptoms include: tingling and numbness in the hands or feet, crawling sensations in the skin, and later, “staggering uncoordinated gait, weakness in the lower limbs, stiffness or tightness of muscles, overactive or hypersensitive body responses such as twitching, complaints of bladder/bowel incontinence or retention, and sexual dysfunction.”
The adverse effects of nitrous oxide can be reversed, but only if they are addressed quickly. If you feel uncertain and need more information, seek medical advice.
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