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The national trade body, the British Compressed Gases Association (BCGA), has produced new guidelines outlining the dangers of nitrous oxide abuse.
The guide underpins the BCGA’s call for a retail ban on gas, which would make it available only to those who buy it for legitimate use in medicine, dentistry, or industries such as restoration.
Also known as laughing gas, nitrous oxide has become the second most commonly used substance among 16 to 24 year olds in England.
In 2019, half a million young people had consumed nitrous oxide, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and 12% of deaths linked to the substance mentioned nitrogen or nitrous oxide on the certificate of death.
Inhalation of nitrous oxide is very dangerous. Many who inhale it don’t appreciate its harms, in part because of the slang terms that trivialize its use like laughing gas, noz, and balloons. The abuse of nitrous oxide, aided by the ease of obtaining and the immediate availability of cartridges, is a plague for our society. Nitrous oxide has legitimate uses in the medical, food, chemical and sports industries, which is why we are calling on the government to introduce an outright ban on sales to consumers. “
Ellen Daniels, Executive Director, BCGA
BCGA’s Abuse of Nitrous Oxide Guide describes the legitimate uses of gas, as well as how it is misused, transported, administered, and the potential consequences of abuse, which can include addiction, hypoxia and death by asphyxia.
The guide can be found at http://bit.ly/BCGALeaflet
Source:
British Compressed Gas Association (BCGA)
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