Health
Restrictions on the sale of nitrous oxide planned
In Gifhorn near Wolfsburg, a vending machine with nitrous oxide bottles alongside sweets and disposable e-cigarettes is causing protests. photo
© Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
Doctors have been warning for months that young people in particular are abusing laughing gas as a party drug. This can result in serious damage to health. Will politics take action now?
Following criticism from parents and doctors, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is pushing for stricter rules to restrict the sale of The SPD politician said on Wednesday in Berlin that laughing gas should be restricted as a party drug, especially among young people. This is a significant health risk and no small matter.
“We should all be concerned about the rapid spread among children and young people,” said Lauterbach. He therefore considers it unacceptable for laughing gas to be sold in vending machines or “Spätis” (late-night shops), especially not to children and young people. He is in discussions with the relevant government departments so that regulations will hopefully be reached soon. “There’s no way things can stay the way they are now.”
Protest against nitrous oxide machines
In Germany, the sale and consumption of laughing gas is not prohibited. The German Society of Neurology recently warned of the dangers. According to doctors, there is a risk of long-term damage. These range from unconsciousness due to displacement of oxygen in the lungs to paralysis and brain damage.
In Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, concerned parents have been protesting for weeks against a vending machine that sells colorful nitrous oxide bottles alongside sweets and disposable e-cigarettes. In a letter, the city parents’ council asked Minister Lauterbach to change the legal regulations.
The operator of the machine in Gifhorn, however, sees no problems. Nitrous oxide is freely available, emphasized the man, who does not want to read his name in the media. Although laughing gas can also be sold to minors, he only voluntarily gives it to people over 18. Only those who prove they are of legal age with their ID card can draw the nitrous oxide from the machine.
Nitrous oxide (N2O) has been on the rise as a party drug for several years. Consumers inhale the euphoric substance through balloons. Nitrous oxide is not yet covered by the narcotics law in Germany and can, for example, be bought in cream capsules or cartridges in supermarkets, tobacco shops or on the Internet.
Other countries have passed laws to prevent abuse. In the UK, possession of nitrous oxide has been illegal since the end of 2023, and the Netherlands and Denmark also have strict regulations.
Concern for young people
The Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues, Burkhard Blienert, is very concerned. Blienert told the “Braunschweiger Zeitung” that there are increasing reports of teenagers and young adults “experimenting with laughing gas and sharing their experiences of getting high on social media.” There is a whole range of laughing gas products that are designed exclusively for inhalation, and even come in different flavors. “This is new and it is not a good development. Everything indicates that the products are intended to appeal to a very young audience,” said Blienert.
The Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag is calling for a ban on the sale of laughing gas to minors. “Medical anesthetics have no place in children and young people,” said health expert Tino Sorge (CDU) to the editorial network Germany (RND). The risk of psychological dependence is considerable; in extreme cases it can lead to fainting, paralysis and heart problems.
The red-green state government of Lower Saxony also sees a need for action and announced on Wednesday that it would examine a Federal Council initiative. “The misuse of laughing gas as a supposed party drug can result in significant damage to health,” warned Lower Saxony’s Health Minister Andreas Philippi (SPD). It does not belong in the hands of children and young people. “Therefore, low-threshold sales to under-18s should be prohibited,” demanded the SPD politician. This applies to kiosk and vending machine sales near schools or daycare centers, but also to online retailers, drugstores or supermarkets. Nevertheless, it must still be possible to use laughing gas for medical purposes, and no one wants to ban whipped cream either.
According to the considerations from Lower Saxony, laughing gas could be included in the so-called New Psychoactive Substances Act, as a ministry spokesperson explained. The law is intended to protect young people in particular from new, synthetically produced designer drugs, so-called legal highs.
The members of the parents’ committee in Gifhorn are pleased that politicians are now taking action. What is needed is education about the dangerous party drug in schools and a general ban on the sale of laughing gas to minors, said Christopher Finck to the German Press Agency. He is deputy chairman of the city’s parents’ council. The parents also support the demand of the Lower Saxony Medical Association to ban the sale of laughing gas cartridges containing more than eight grams to private individuals.