Balloon animals: Is laughing gas bad for you?

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Clik here to view. Balloon Animals: Is Laughing Gas Bad For You?

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Published on September 29th, 2015 | by James Woolven

Nitrous oxide is an increasingly popular legal high you ve probably seen the little metal canisters littered beside tents at festivals, discarded in living rooms of house parties, or skittering across the dancefloors of nightclubs, but how dangerous is the gas?

The UK government is moving to ban the sale of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas or nos, under a new blanket ban of legal highs. But at the moment, it is still widely available from mainstream online venders, usually sold under the pretence that the gas is used for whipping cream.

People taking it are easy to spot too sucking on balloons filled with it.

Here s what some reviewers make of it on Amazon:

Sarah gives five stars: Wow this whipped the cream so well. I was whipping all day. Great end result.

Just always seem to need another box for more cream. My cream whipping brings all the boys to the yard. Don t forget to buy some good balloons for your party you will need these to compliment all the beautiful whipped cream creations.

Benjii says: Extra fast delivery, canisters were great for errrrm .whipping cream?

Best cream chargers available, and such a good price. Ordered a second batch! #NosNation

Freddie says: Bought for making lots of whipped cream for my birthday party (lol), excellent product, but try not to whip any cream whilst standing up or walking as whipping cream can affect your balance.

Jon says: Quality product, I ordered on a Friday and chargers were meant to come on Tuesday but arrived the next day, good laugh with mates at a festival err, I mean, in the kitchen whipping cream

Some, like Liam, are less subtle: Obviously used for laughing gas, very affective, good fun!

Student says: Perfect for whipping an inordinate amount of cream, or giggling excessively for 10 seconds at a time. Your choice.

Urwah gives five stars and simply says: I love this s***.

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Clik here to view. Balloon Animals: Is Laughing Gas Bad For You?

Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is sold in small metal canisters that are then cracked for inhalation, usually with a balloon.

However, there is a sinister side to the giggly gas.

In March this year, an Isle of Wight man died after inhaling too much nitrous oxide.

Aaron Dunford, 22, of East Cowes, was found dead in his student accommodation in Brighton with 200 canisters in his room. A coroner s court heard how Mr Dunford inhaled the gas so often that it had caused him chronic nerve pain due to a vitamin B12 deficiency caused by the gas. The coroner recorded a death by asphyxiation, caused by inhalation of nitrous oxide and chronic nerve pain.

Detective Inspector Mick Jones, of Sussex Police, who oversaw the investigation, said: Anyone considering using this substance in this way should think again.

The effect of asphyxia through inhalation could happen on the first occasion it is used or after repeated use. This tragic case has highlighted that even when it does not result in a fatality that there are longer term effects on your health as despite the deceased being a young man, he was unable to walk down a simple flight of steps due to the chronic pain he had in his knees which was a direct result of using nitrous oxide gas.

However, opinion in the scientific community seems to be divided as to how dangerous the gas really is.

David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College, London and former UK government drugs adviser, told the BBC in July that laughing gas is actually exceptionally safe considering the numbers who use it. According to the Home Office ², 7.6% of young adults (16-24) had taken nitrous oxide in 2013-14, greater than cocaine (4.2%) ecstasy (3.9%) and ketamine (1.8%).

I mean you can kill yourself, obviously, professor Nutt said.

If you breathe nothing but nitrous for 10 minutes you will die, but I don t think there s any evidence that nitrous kills people if you use it recreationally.

Nitrous oxide was first synthesised in 1772 and it was less than thirty years before it was being used recreationally, primarily by the British upper-class.

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Clik here to view. Balloon Animals: Is Laughing Gas Bad For You?

After its discovery in 1772, laughing gas quickly became popular with the British upper-class as a recreational drug.

Bestival banned all legal highs from the site this year, and posted this statement on its website: It isn t rocket science. Don t bring drugs onto the festival site, or be prepared for the consequences.

Amnesty bins were situated outside the festival gates and were filled with 37,000 worth of assorted drugs.

33,000 worth of drugs were seized.

Despite those efforts police said more people were kicked out for using Nos than in previous years.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. Balloon Animals: Is Laughing Gas Bad For You?

Bestival has moved to ban legal highs, including laughing gas, from its site.

Effects of nitrous oxide (Talk to FRANK):

Tags: Bestival, drug, Festival, laughing gas, legal highs, nitrous oxide, nos, noz
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About the Author

James Woolven ¹² My name is James Woolven and I’ve recently come over to the Island from Brighton bit of a culture shock, but I’m getting there.

I’m 23 years old and I live in a dingy flat in Cowes, which I fill with incense and pretentious novels. I like to tell people I spend all my time writing and reading, but the truth is I spend most of my time cooking pasta and binging Netflix. My interests include literature, travel, politics and pubs.