This Gas Is No Laughing Matter

Why is it that young people, with few responsibilities and worries in life, are the population segment most likely to experiment with almost any substance in a search for a “buzz” or “high” that helps them escape from reality? I remember many years ago in my youth witnessing classmates sniffing markers, glue, white-out, paint, wood shop varnish, or sucking helium out of balloons, all in hopes of getting a “buzz.” I never quite understood that behavior, since for me, living life and being young were a buzz unto themselves.

To a degree, scientists and medical researchers had already determined even then that such practices were potentially hazardous to one’s health, but advances in medical knowledge now clearly demonstrate that sniffing or breathing chemical fumes, intentionally or otherwise, causes long-term damage to organs through chronic absence of oxygen, known as hypoxia (also called anoxia). Common sense would suggest that the current generation of youth, with unlimited information at their fingertips through the Internet, would be wiser than previous generations. Not so, according to a Sky News investigative report.

The report, “Killer Gas Still On Sale,” describes a growing phenomenon in Britain, in which young adults at pubs and clubs are buying balloons filled with nitrous oxide, more popularly referred to as “laughing gas,” and inhaling it in hopes of “enhancing” the party experience. Unfortunately, some have indulged themselves to death at such parties, and countless others are building toward similar fates through long term brain and organ damage from hypoxia.

Most chemicals or gasses have legal industrial or commercial use, and nitrous oxide is used by dentists, hospitals, and even whipped cream producers, as the gas is used as a propellant in canned whipped cream. Because of the wide variety of uses, few restrictions on distribution were placed on nitrous oxide by Britain’s lawmakers, who did not foresee that its youth would create a supply and demand market for the gas. It is not illegal for clubs and pubs to possess the gas, nor is it illegal to sell the gas for inhalation. This is a situation Britain should address promptly. In the United States, it is legal to possess nitrous oxide in most states, but many states, including California, have made it a misdemeanor to possess the gas with intent to inhale or selling nitrous with devices or means to facilitate inhalation except for medicinal use. Despite the legal restrictions, the problem of young people acquiring nitrous for inhalation persists.

If you are a youth or young adult seeking a “buzz” from sniffing or inhaling chemicals or gasses, please educate yourself about the dangers of this practice before you do permanent damage. If you are a parent, talk to your child and make sure he or she is not participating in the perilous quest for a “buzz.”