Home Secretary urged to ban consumer sales of laughing gas
The British Compressed Gases Association made the plea to Suella Braverman.
The Home Secretary is facing calls to ban sales of laughing gas.
The British Compressed Gases Association (BCGA) has written to Suella Braverman, urging her to scrap direct-to-consumer retail sales of nitrous oxide.
The drug is typically used by being released into balloons from small silver cannisters and then inhaled, giving temporary feelings of relaxation and euphoria.
But prolonged use of nitrous oxide can cause vitamin B12 deficiency, anaemia and nerve damage.
Last month doctors warned that using laughing gas could lead to spinal injuries.
Ellen Daniels, chief executive of the trade body which represents the UK’s compressed gas industry, said: “We congratulate the new Home Secretary on her appointment and hope that she will continue to engage with us regarding the health and social harms posed by nitrous oxide and consider whether retail sales of the gas should be banned.”
Last year the Home Office asked the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the harm caused by nitrous oxide as the Government sought advice on whether to make possession of laughing gas a crime.
It came after a rise in its use among young people, with the substance being the second most-used drug among UK 16 to 24-year-olds.
According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 36 deaths in Great Britain associated with nitrous oxide between 2001 and 2016.
But drugs experts said the move is “completely pointless” and a “waste of time”.
The sale of nitrous oxide for its psychoactive effects is illegal but it is not a crime to possess the drug.
It is also used medically as an anaesthetic, given for instance to women in labour.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “It is unlawful to supply nitrous oxide for its psychoactive effects, with offenders potentially facing a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.“Given concerns about the use of nitrous oxide by young people, the former home secretary sought advice from the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) last year. When the ACMD responds, the Government will consider the advice carefully.”