Laughing gas ban to be included in Government’s anti-social behaviour clampdown

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the use of nitrous oxide in public is a ‘scourge’ and is fuelling anti-social behaviour.

Laughing gas will be banned as part of the UK Government’s anti-social clampdown (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Archive)

The sale of laughing gas to the public will be banned as part of a wider crackdown on anti-social behaviour, a Cabinet minister has confirmed.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the “scourge” of nitrous oxide is turning public spaces into “drug-taking arenas” and is helping fuel anti-social behaviour that ministers are determined to stamp out.

The ban comes despite an assessment by the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) concluding it would be disproportionate to bring in an outright ban given the level of harm associated with nitrous oxide.