Everything youth workers need to know about laughing gas

What is laughing gas?

It’s a gas with the chemical formula N2O, commonly referred to as ‘nitrous oxide’ but more accurately called Dinitrogen Monoxide. Your average person knows it as ‘laughing gas’, and it has a sweetish odour and taste. When it’s not being taken as a drug, it has three main uses:

• Numbing pain for medical procedures like dental work
• Increasing the power output in engines
• Keeping packaged food from going bad, as well as in whipped cream canisters

As a recreational drug you may see it being sold in small canisters or in balloons.

What does laughing gas do?

Laughing gas is a depressant-type drug which tends to make the user feel euphoric, relaxed and calm. It can also bring about fits of laughter (hence the name), as well as hallucinations and sound distortions. Less desirable effects might include dizziness and headaches.

Is laughing gas dangerous?

Aside from affecting your judgement which can lead to risky behaviours and accidents, laughing gas can result in death by starving your body of oxygen. Heavy use can result in a Vitamin B12 deficiency which eventually leads to nerve damage and causes difficulties in walking, as well as tingling and numbness in the hands and feet.

It is also much more dangerous to inhale straight from the canister as it could freeze your throat or lungs, leading to asphyxiation.

Is laughing gas legal?

Laughing gas can currently be consumed and possessed legally, although in England and Wales it’s illegal to sell to individuals under 18.

The government has introduced new legislation that will soon make it illegal to possess laughing gas in a blanket ban of legal highs across the UK.

Outspoken critic of UK drugs policy David Nutt opposes the ban, saying “Attacking head shops is like attacking sex shops because you think they lower the tone of your town,” and “Nitrous oxide has been around as a medicine and a way of people understanding a different way of feeling for 200 years. Banning it now is pathetic.”

How popular is laughing gas?

By some accounts it’s the second most popular drug in the UK after cannabis, with a fifth of 16-24 year olds having tried it in the past 12 months. That amounts to about 400,000 young people. It also appears to be popular at music festivals, with two tonnes of discarded canisters being retrieved at Glastonbury’s 2014 festival.

What youth work resources are there for laughing gas?

Free youth work resources for laughing gas appear to be thin on the ground, but UK charity Re-Solve offer these toolkits for £20, as well as leaflets and posters.

Youth workers may want to incorporate greater knowledge on laughing gas into their other work around drugs and risk-taking behaviours. Activities such as Agree/Disagree, Traffic Lights or Risk Ladder, can all be used to explore and challenge attitudes towards laughing gas. Check out the No Knives, Better Lives resources website, for detailed explanations of these activities.

For a larger collection of youth work resources, check out the Scottish Peer Education Network pages on our website.