Stores across the state of New York will now prohibit people under the age of 21 from buying canisters of whipped cream. Whipped cream canisters are filled with ‘laughing gas’ or nitrous oxide which youngsters use to get high.
The New York State passed a law last November but people who run convenience and grocery stores have started its implementation this month. Store owners who are caught selling whipped cream canisters to someone under the age of 21 will be fined $250 for the first time and on repeated violation they will be charged $500.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warns that inhalation of nitrous oxide can damage parts of the brain that control thinking, vision, moving and hearing. In extreme cases, it could lead to severe dementia.
Joseph P. Addabbo, the New York senator, who sponsored the bill said nitrous oxide can be extremely lethal. “Nitrous oxide is a legal chemical for legitimate professional use but when used improperly, it can be extremely lethal. Sadly, young people buy and inhale this gas to get ‘high’ because they mistakenly believe it is a ‘safe’ substance. This law will eliminate easy access to this dangerous substance for our youth,” Addabbo was quoted as saying by NBC News affiliate, WNBC.
Is Recreational Usage of Nitrous Oxide on the Rise?
Nitrous Oxide or Laughing Gas has been used primarily by dentists and medical practitioners on patients and dosage has been given to patients under medical supervision. It helped in understanding the use of anaesthesia in modern medical science. However, the usage of nitrous oxide for recreational purposes or to get high has been on the rise.
Humphry Davy, British chemist, in the 1700s often gave his guests laughing gas during private gatherings. American philosopher William James in 1882 in his paper ‘The Subjective Effects of Nitrous Oxide’ said he felt a feeling of metaphysical illumination upon using nitrous oxide.
In recent years, the recreational use of nitrous oxide gathered international attention after footballers Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Matteo Guendouzi – who were then playing for British football club Arsenal in the English Premier League – were spotted inhaling nitrous oxide at a London pub in 2018.
In the UK, nitrous oxide canisters are known as hippie crack while in Australia these canisters are called nangs (which is also a name of a song by famed Australian music group Tame Impala).
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