The EU drugs agency has expressed concern at the increasing growth in the supply and recreational use of laughing gas by young people across many countries including Ireland.
New research shows almost 1 in 4 Irish people said they had used the gas – otherwise known as nitrous oxide – at some stage in their lives with 3.7% claiming they had taken it in the previous 12 months with usage levels even higher among those aged 18-24 years at 5.5%.
The rising popularity of the gas as a recreational drug is creating greater risk and harm among teenagers inexperienced with drugs, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.
It claimed the cheap availability of the drug was also linked with an increase in reported poisonings.
A new report by the EMCDDA said nitrous oxide, which has a variety of legitimate uses including as a food additive and as an anaesthetic, was found to cause varying degrees of damage to the nervous system due to the irreversible inactivation of vitamin B12 in the body.
It warned that users could also suffer severe frostbite from exposure to the drug as well as lung injuries.
While nitrous oxide is not a controlled substance in Ireland under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, it is illegal to sell its for its psychoactive properties.
The research showed 38.9% of Irish people who said they had used the drug said they had taken it in the previous 12 months.
Almost 3 out of 10 said they had first used it when travelling as a tourist outside Ireland.
Just over 1 in 10 said they were occasional rather than infrequent users of nitrous oxide.
The report showed 91% of Irish users stated they had taken the drug by inhaling from a balloon, while 11% said they had inhaled from a canister.
It also revealed that 26% said they used at least 10 canisters on a typical occasion when taking the drug while 21% said they only used a single canister.
The most common setting for using nitrous oxide was at a domestic party (63%) or at home (59%).
However, the report said the low proportion of the drugs used in clubs or bars (14%) might be explained by their closure as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.
More than half of respondents said people usually shared the drug with them or gave it to them free, while 30% said they usually bought it online.
Organisations involved in drug treatment services said it was used by early teens in parks and wastelands and by older teens who use it at house parties.
They said there was also a growing tend for people in their early 20s to use it at parties or as “pre-loading” before going out.
Figures show there were fewer than 5 cases of people needing treatment for use of the drug in Irelanf in 2020 but that increased to 10, according to preliminary data for 2021.
A medical report by staff at St James’s Hospital in Dublin earlier this year recorded two cases of young males who presented in the hospital’s emergency department with progressive disorders of nerves in their arms and legs related to their use of nitrous oxide.
The EU drugs agency claimed a key factor in the increased recreational use of the drugs was the widespread availability of small 8-gram cartridges containing the gas which are usually used to make whipped cream.
The EMCDDA said suppliers have also started selling larger cylinders of the gas in order to deliberately target recreational users.
“This makes the gas significantly cheaper and is seen to promote wider, heavier and more regular use,” it added.
It noted that social media also plays an important role in advertising and selling the drug.
The EMCDDA said “a profitable and expanding” supply chain had also developed with specialised websites promoting the gas for recreational uses under the guise of its use to make whipped cream.
EMCDDA director, Alexis Goosdeel, observed that there is a general perception among users that inhalation of nitrous oxides is safe.
However, he claimed the serious harm which the drug could cause meant it was important to avoid normalising and unintentionally promoting its use.
“Targeted intervention and further research are needed to increase understanding of the risks and reduce harms,” said Mr Goosdeel.
The EMCDDA said any response measure needed to consider the widespread legitimate uses of nitrous oxide by industry, healthcare and consumers for which there were often few alternatives.
