Laughing gas: Experts warn nitrous oxide ban will not stop use

[brogdale]

I’m almost entirely ignorant of this phenomenon. I was surprised to hear it was enough of an issue for politicians to want to take a stance.

Local election polling is clearly troubling the vermin and they've been scrabbling around in their low to zero cost focus group outcomes.

 

[Sasaferrato]

My cousin killed himself by inhaling nitrous oxide.

No-one suspected he was suicidal. He met with various groups of friends beforehand, and no-one suspected anything.

Then he booked a room in a hotel and killed himself with nitrous oxide. His body was found by a chambermaid the following day.

Typing this, my hands are still shaking.

So sorry to hear that.

 

[SpookyFrank]

I’m almost entirely ignorant of this phenomenon. I was surprised to hear it was enough of an issue for politicians to want to take a stance.

If you've ever seen loads of two inch long silver cylinders with rounded ends ditched in a gutter somewhere you've seen the leftovers of nitrous abuse.

E2a These little buggers...

 

[Sasaferrato]

I’m almost entirely ignorant of this phenomenon. I was surprised to hear it was enough of an issue for politicians to want to take a stance.

I don't know if it has caught on up here... yet.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Mind you, disposable vapes are as bad on the littering front.

 

[seeformiles]

Littering aside (& the litter is recyclable) I don’t see how it contributes to any other antisocial behaviour. Those who have abused it to point that it’s irreparably damaged them are very much the minority and something that could have been avoided with proper harm-reduction information (something that goes for all drugs). If people are determined to say “yes” then give them the information to make an informed decision. If they still go ahead then there’s not much that can be done. Preferable to “It’s all evil and just say no” anyway. Never stopped me.

 

[kalidarkone]

Seems its usage can cause serious health problems which is surely concerning?

Too much of a lot things can cause serious health concerns.

 

[gentlegreen]

Mind you, disposable vapes are as bad on the littering front.

I've been harvesting them for the batteries.

 

[Epona]

Mind you, disposable vapes are as bad on the littering front.

Very true.
And cigarette butts.
Absolutely dreadful mess and very bad for the environment, pollute the soil for years, end up in our waterways.

If anyone thinks though that criminalising the stuff is going to protect teenagers from damaging themselves or solve any societal problems, then they haven't been paying attention to anti-drug legislation and what criminalisation/jail does to individuals and communities over the last 50 or more years.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Too much of a lot things can cause serious health concerns.

I suppose education about vitamin B would be a good starting point. That could counter the damage caused.

 

[gentlegreen]

I pick up "drug litter" in the local park on my walks so small children don't have to see it.

Nearly all white cider and lager cans, , a few Magnum and vodka bottles...

Cigarette ends everywhere - poisoning invertebrate life...
I've been half-heartedly collecting vapes for the batteries ...

I thought today I might start on the weed baggies - bench by bench ...

The small NO2 bottles recently have been replaced by full size ones

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Very true.
And cigarette butts.
Absolutely dreadful mess and very bad for the environment, pollute the soil for years, end up in our waterways.

If anyone thinks though that criminalising the stuff is going to protect teenagers from damaging themselves or solve any societal problems, then they haven't been paying attention to anti-drug legislation and what criminalisation/jail does to individuals and communities over the last 50 or more years.

I’m not turning conservative in my old age but I have two heads really. My libertarian socialist one and my trade unionist one. Some substances do need to be controlled.

 

[maomao]

If it was about health they'd ban booze and fags.

 

[skyscraper101]

Labour supporting the ban. Absolutely clueless. I hate the littering of canisters and balloon dickheads as much as the next person - but making it illegal isn't going to do shit.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

If it was about health they'd ban booze and fags.

And they'd legalise MDMA and open testing stations.

It's partly about not wanting people getting off their heads on anything remotely psychedelic. Just because.

Balloons were a thing 20 years ago at squat parties. It seems to have taken a while to take off more generally.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

If it was about health they'd ban booze and fags.

They haven’t banned glue or gas though? So I doubt they’ll ban this either.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

They haven’t banned glue or gas though? So I doubt they’ll ban this either.

They will if they can create a sufficient moral panic about it. They banned GBL quickly enough when it came to their attention (although that was much more dangerous).

 

[Epona]

The small NO2 bottles recently have been replaced by full size ones

The full sized ones are much easier to deal with - OK they are heavier to pick up and bulkier to remove, but they don't work their way into the leaf mulch and soil the way the small ones do.

But as quite rightly stated, this isn't about litter. If it was, they'd just ban the small cannisters while leaving the big ones legal, ban use of plastics in cigarette filters and wet wipes etc.
This has nothing to do with litter (which is a large problem but the way of tackling it is NOT this) and everything to do with control.

 

[skyscraper101]

IIRC it was only because the MP Crispin Blunt came out, literally, in parliament to defend poppers as a sex aid that they weren't banned too a few years back.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Mind you, disposable vapes are as bad on the littering front.

And there's this idea again that they're harmless. Saw a bunch of 12-13 years old kids out the other day, with a parent, all of them vaping.

 

[kalidarkone]

I suppose education about vitamin B would be a good starting point. That could counter the damage caused.

There is tons of information about how to use drugs and alcohol in a safe moderate way. Education is a part of the picture, but at the end of the day if someone wants to get fucked up and off their face they will and for many varying reasons. Out of all the people that display risk taking behaviour, there are always extremists.

I think part of the reason N0z is being made illegal is because it turns a huge profit. It really has been easy money. It became widespread because it has been easily available.

In Bristol on a night out, on the street and in the clubs it's there. Lakota even had a "Balloon room"

 

[Epona]

And there's this idea again that they're harmless. Saw a bunch of 12-13 years old kids out the other day, with a parent, all of them vaping.

That's fairly sad, but are you saying that 12-13 year old kids should be smoking cigarettes instead? Because most smokers I know started on cigarettes around that age or even younger.

 

[skyscraper101]

I thought they can't 'ban' it anyway because it's needed for stuff like canned whipped cream.

 

[SpookyFrank]

That's fairly sad, but are you saying that 12-13 year old kids should be smoking cigarettes instead?

Well, no.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

They will if they can create a sufficient moral panic about it. They banned GBL quickly enough when it came to their attention (although that was much more dangerous).

But nitrous has a genuine use in cooking.

 

[Epona]

I thought they can't 'ban' it anyway because it's needed for stuff like canned whipped cream.

It's used in catering, yes.
If there is one upside to this it is that we might see an end to stuff like "smoked samphire foam" as part of a dish on cooking shows.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

But nitrous has a genuine use in cooking.

Trifles to be a food of the past.

 

[gentlegreen]

That's fairly sad, but are you saying that 12-13 year old kids should be smoking cigarettes instead? Because most smokers I know started on cigarettes around that age or even younger.

These things are fruit-flavoured FFS ...
When I first encountered the practice it reminded me of shisha - though I think there are even tobacco-free shisha places - and possibly tobacco-free vapes ...

What happened to alco-pops ?
"Magnum" is new to me - Buckfast without the caffeine ...

 

[Sasaferrato]

IIRC it was only because the MP Crispin Blunt came out, literally, in parliament to defend poppers as a sex aid that they weren't banned too a few years back.

What is the active ingredient in poppers?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

These things are fruit-flavoured FFS ...
When I first encountered the practice it reminded me of shisha - though I think there are even tobacco-free shisha places - and possibly tobacco-free vapes ...

What happened to alco-pops ?
"Magnum" is new to me - Buckfast without the caffeine ...

There are nicotine-free vapes. Often those are the ones kids use. I fail to see the attraction.

From what is known (which isn't loads) it may very well be that the fruit flavouring is the worst thing for you in them. Worse than the nicotine.