Nitrous oxide
Nitrous oxide - background:
This information was produced in 2022 by Greater Manchester Local Drug Information System (from a Nitrous Oxide briefing):
Nitrous oxide (N2O for short) is commonly known as Laughing Gas. It is a colourless, slightly sweet smelling, non-flammable gas that has a number of uses. It is used as an anaesthetic in dentistry and childbirth, as a propellant gas for making whipped cream and as a Nitrous Oxide System (or NOS for short) for enhancing drag racing engines. NOS or Noz are also nicknames for N2O when it is used as a street drug.
To produce its effects, N2O must be inhaled. Serious damage can be done to the lungs if the freezing cold gas is inhaled directly from a pressurised tank, so it is inhaled from a balloon filled with the N2O. Balloons come in both standard and extra-large sizes and are normally filled with N2O from either a finger-length steel tank and more recently by much larger steel tanks.
Effects from inhaling a balloon of N2O will start almost immediately, peaking about 10-30 seconds after inhalation and then rapidly diminishing. It produces a euphoric, pleasant, joyful and sometimes hallucinogenic effect and causes a deep ‘silly’ voice. Users often feel back to normal within about 1 to 5 minutes after the last inhalation, although some report that effects, such as a sense of well-being, can be felt for up to 30 minutes. Temporary side effects include pins and needles, numbness, weakness in the legs, dizziness and disorientation. There may be an increase in the effects when used with alcohol or other drugs.
It is an offence for someone to possess N2O with the intent to supply it to someone to consume for its psychoactive effects.
There are no national statistics, but several local reports of an increase in drivers inhaling N2O before or while driving. Although N2O is very short-acting it affects coordination and awareness, reducing psychomotor skills and increasing the likelihood of road traffic accidents. As N2O displaces oxygen, there is also a risk of asphyxiation if using heavily in an enclosed space like a car.
As well as increased risk of accidents, asphyxiation and nerve damage, there are harms associated with using nitrous oxide such as littering and environmental impacts.
Why we are considering prohibiting the use of nitrous oxide in public spaces in the PSPO
City centre residents have told us that they are regularly disturbed during the week and (more often) at weekends by people congregating in cars in residential areas, in the early hours of the morning, to inhale nitrous oxide through balloons and play loud music from their vehicles.
Residents have explained that users of nitrous oxide then behave rowdily in a party type atmosphere on the street. Some residents have told us that they find this behaviour intimidating and all of the residents we've engaged have said that the noise nuisance significantly disturbs their sleep, having a detrimental impact on their wellbeing. Residents described a hissing sound of the balloons being inflated, which they could hear from inside their homes with windows closed. They also raised concerns about nitrous oxide cannisters littering the area where they live: one resident cleared up their street one Sunday morning after people had met to use nitrous oxide in the early hours: they collected 155 cannisters. Residents have shared with us details of specific incidents and we have reviewed CCTV footage they have captured.
Greater Manchester Police have witnessed the behaviours described by city centre residents, but are unable to prevent people from consuming Nitrous Oxide because the current legislation does not classify possession as a criminal offence.
Greater Manchester Police records show:
- from October 2021 to September 2022 there were 109 incidents in the City Centre relating to the use of nitrous oxide, an increase from 55 the previous year.
- during 2021/22, 57 of these 109 incidents were linked to concerns about drivers using nitrous oxide in the City Centre.
- 26 other incidents were also linked to people using nitrous oxide in vehicles, but not specifically associated with drivers.
- The remaining incidents involved the use of N20 in other public spaces.
- The specific concerns about people using balloons while driving increased to 57 reports from 22 reports during the previous 12 months. Many of the calls to the police were concerns about drugged drivers describe dangerous driving – speeding, weaving through traffic, causing actual or near collisions, driving very slowly and / or causing an obstruction, doing handbrake turns, running red lights. Some of these incidents also involve reports of cannisters being thrown from vehicles, and abusive or aggressive behaviour.
- The police have informed us that reports of balloon use associated with vehicles also often include complaints about loud music, as well as a smaller number of incidents where vehicle occupants have harassed women and girls, in one or two cases apparently pretending to be taxi drivers.
- Our colleagues and partners responsible for dealing with waste have provided us with photographic evidence of Nitrous Oxide cannisters littered across the city centre. Residents have reported that their streets are often littered following people using Nitrous Oxide in the early hours. One report we received highlighted an impact on mobility when several cannisters were littered on the street immediately outside the exit to the building where they live.
What the Council is considering:
Following the concerns that have been raised with the Council we are considering varying and extending the City Centre PSPO to make it an offence to consume nitrous oxide in a public space in the city centre. We also propose a specific prohibition that prevents people from discarding nitrous oxide cannisters in public spaces.