A student has called for Nitrous Oxide to be banned to anyone without a licence.
The gas, also known as nos, can have lifelong damaging effects as the canisters starve your blood of oxygen and reach your brain within seconds if inhaled in high volumes.
Heavy use of the psychoactive gas can lead to nerve damage, vitamin B12 deficiency and skipped heartbeats. For those with an underlying heart condition or abnormal blood pressure, it can lead to more devastating effects such as heart attacks.
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People who take nos recreationally all have different experiences, with some being worse than others. One ex-Liverpool student, who wishes to remain anonymous claims she was scared for her life after inhaling a whole box at a flat party.
The ex-student said: "Well I always thought it was safe because you could just buy them online or at a local shop. At first I wasn't that interested but there were always boxes and boxes of them at every party I went to at uni.
"I was confused the first time I tried one. There was a loud ringing through my ears and everything just felt a little strange."
This was only the start for the ex-student as she ended up becoming reliant on the gas for a night out.
She said: "After I tried it the once, I just wanted another one and another one. I just got to the point where I couldn't even go for a night out without buying a box. I thought about stopping because they are stupidly expensive to buy.
"Last year I was in a party and there were loads of large canisters going round. I was so drunk and while I was waiting for my taxi I thought I'd just have another. This was the most stupid thing I ever did.
"Black spots just started to appear and I started freaking out. I just couldn't see. I was scared for my life. I thought I was going blind. I started sobbing down the phone to my mate."
Nitrous Oxide is not illegal to possess the psychoactive substance unless it is with the intent to supply.
The former student we spoke to's views were echoed by one Liverpool woman said a friend took a turn for the worse at an international festival.
The woman said: "Don't do them, they are horrible. I went to a festival with my mate and she loves balloons. She cracks a new one while she already has one in her mouth.
"She had a seizure off one in the festival. She was shaking and didn't know what was going on. I was traumatised just watching her.
"You see kids with them and everything because you can just buy them from anywhere these days. I can't believe they haven't been made fully illegal yet. I know you can be nicked for having a load but if you only one box, no one does anything."
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