Health experts warn against inhaling nitrous oxide amid rising accessibility

6 hours ago 3

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Health officials are sounding the alarm about the dangers of nitrous oxide.

Also known as laughing gas or whippets, it’s commonly used in dental offices and for making whipped cream. While it has been a recreational drug for years, it has been re-branded, and critics claim it is causing a surge of younger users.

It has also become increasingly easy to access.

The FDA warns that nitrous oxide is being sold online and at retailers ranging from supermarkets to gas stations, making it a potential danger to avoid no matter where you’re shopping.

“We just ultimately want the public to know that there are definitely risks that come with doing this and using this product in this way,” said Mark Person, Public Health Program Director with the Pima County Health Department.

Laughing gas abuse, also known as nitrous oxide, is surging among young people, including an Arizona father caught giving it to his kids.

For decades, people have been inhaling nitrous oxide to experience a short-lived feeling of euphoria or a high.

Historically, people have used small metal canisters intended to power whipped cream dispensers to gain access to the drug. Users crack them open and inhale the gas.

“It’s a small euphoric feeling for maybe 30 seconds, and then you have to continuously do it over and over again,” Person explained.

Person said people will also use larger whip cream canisters or tanks and force the nitrous oxide into a balloon.

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“And then they use the balloon to inhale it, which forces a bunch of the substance into your bloodstream all at once and that’s where it gets dangerous, where people can actually lose consciousness or even die in some cases,” he said.

Health leaders say the biggest concern now is that access to it is getting even easier.

“Now that these companies are making these products and selling them and marketing them in this way. That is a little more concerning because it makes it more accessible for people,” Person said.

The FDA advises consumers not to inhale nitrous oxide – citing an increase in reports of adverse effects.

Person said they don’t have any records of anyone in Pima County overdosing on nitrous oxide, but he said it can happen. And even if you don’t die from it, prolonged use comes with a list of risk factors.

“It changes your blood count, it can produce blood clots, it can cause asphyxia, it can cause long-term brain damage, even paralysis,” Person said.

It’s especially dangerous for kids, which is why it’s a class 5 felony for anyone under 18 to possess or use nitrous oxide in Arizona.

According to the FDA, products may be sold under the following brand names, including but not limited to: