Netherlands to ban Laughing gas (Nitrous oxide) from January amidst health concerns, over the rising gas usage among the youngsters of the country.
Not only considering health but also road safety plays a vital role in this ban.
After this ban, the Dutch government hopes that the number of road traffic accidents will be reduced. Over the past three years, laughing gas has caused around 1,800 accidents across the Netherlands, according to road safety monitor TeamAlert reports.
“Almost 2 incidents per day are caused by this gas. These figures really shocked us” Maartje Oosterink of TeamAlert told the AD newspaper about the increasing number of road accidents.
Laughing Gas
Nitrous Oxide is a legal high gas popularly known as laughing gas which is used widely in clubs and festival parties. Most commonly youngsters consume it in combination with other drugs like MDMA (ecstasy) or ketamine, BBC reports.
The gas can be bought from retail sellers, in small canisters using which the gas can be filled into balloons and inhaled.
Now it is legal to buy, sell and keep laughing gas in the Netherlands. But, from January 2024 it will become illegal.
Despite the drug having medical and food industry purposes, it is being misused as a psychopath drug by young people of age between 16-24.
But it has “The recreational use of nitrous oxide leads to enormous health risks,” State Secretary for Health, Maarten van Ooijen said as the government announced the decision.
Since 2012, it has been demanded to ban laughing gas in the UK region, after a student’s death due to the consumption of laughing gas in combination with butane and pentane.
State Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz said that “the ban would enable the police to take immediate action if they found someone with nitrous oxide gas canisters in their vehicle”
What are the health concerns?
The National Library of Medicine, an official website of the USA lists the adverse effects of the usage of nitrous oxide as follows-
Respiratory Depression: when used with other sedatives, hypnotics, or opioids, it is potent enough to develop the respiratory depressant effects of these agents.
Also, Diffusion hypoxia, Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting, fever, pulmonary atelectasis, infectious complications, Hyperhomocysteinemia, and anemia may be developed.
Dutch government hopes that the ban on Nitrous Oxide gas will help to reduce health and road safety concerns across the country.
Also, using gas for medical and food purposes is exempt from the ban.
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