Nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, is used by children and young people as a recreational drug, a trend that worries doctors due to its dangerous health consequences.
Nitrous oxide, also known as “laughing gas”, is a well-known mild anesthetic. which is typically used in certain medical situations, such as visits to the dentist, and which allows a patient to be asleep and relaxed.
However, this gas has been used as a recreational drug for several decades and, now, went viral in the social networks massively: young people call it Galaxy Gas and use it to make “funny” videos.
In the archives, Children aged 15 to 18 are seen inhaling the gas and falling to the ground, completely drugged.
Thus, a worrying situation was generated on the networks which even led to TikTok will start downloading videos where this product is detected, because Its misuse can have extremely negative consequences on the health of children, young people and adults.
What is Galaxy Gas, the new trend in social networks
Gas Galaxy is a genuine brand of nitrous oxide bottles sold as a culinary product. Its specific use is to transform liquid cream into foam to add to drinks and desserts.
They are presented as attractive and colorful cans (of different cream flavors), an image that has gone viral on social networks, such as TikTok, X and YouTube, but not because of its usefulness in cooking, but because young people began to inhale the contents, i.e. the gas, use it as a recreational drug and “expose” its effects.
To get an idea of the scale, One of the most viewed videos, in which a man inhales a can of strawberry-flavored Galaxy Gas, has been viewed more than 28 million times on the X platform.
Given the situation, the Galaxy Gas brand has established a warning on its website stating that “it is illegal to intentionally inhale our product” and that “we do not tolerate illegal use of our products.”
They also added the warning that “If used incorrectly or in an unintended way, such as inhalation, it can cause hypoxia. DO NOT INHALE.
Shortly after, they stopped selling the cylinders. A company spokeswoman said it was “deeply shocked by the news”. and recent social media posts from individuals illegally misusing our products.
However, you can still buy nitrous oxide from other brands.
Why nitrous oxide went viral on social media
Basically, Children and young people have found nitrous oxide an alternative drug to get them “high”.
This is why videos have become very popular: On the one hand, many people began to use it and demonstrate its anesthetic effects in videos, but it also aroused the curiosity of the public on social networks, who consumed this type of content en masse.
This is why TikTok stopped showing results for videos searched under “Galaxy Gas” and, instead, decided to direct users searching for this trend to a help page on substance use and addiction.
However, not all recordings have been removed from the Chinese platform, let alone others like YouTube, X and Reddit.
The dangerous consequences of inhaling nitrous oxide or laughing gas
If a doctor uses nitrous oxide as an anesthetic, the risks are minimal. Nevertheless, This gas, in the hands of inexperienced children and young people, could have serious health consequences.
According to Purva Grover, medical director of pediatric emergencies at Cleveland Clinic Children’s , Administering the gas without supervision can be “very dangerous”, to the point of causing serious injury to children and young people.
Some of The negative effects of inhaling nitrous oxide can be:
- Dizziness
- Headaches.
- Modify the judgment.
- Impair cardiovascular function.
Concerning the latter, the doctor declared to the New York Times that People with low oxygen levels may be at risk of cardiac arrest.
Furthermore, according to an article published in the review dependence , we believe that Nitrous oxide could be addictive, like other drugs.
In this sense, doctors are concerned about the excessive consumption of laughing gas since, according to another report published in The British Medical Journal in 2022, Medical professionals have observed an increase in the number of young people suffering from neurological problems due to recreational use of nitrous oxide.
Only in the United States, More than 13 million people have consumed this gas inappropriately at some point in their lives. established the National Health and Drug Use Survey of 2023.
So much so that in some states, like New York, The sale of whipped cream chargers containing this gas to minors under 21 was prohibited.
The controversial design of whipped cream that has become a drug
Even if the Galaxy Gas brand was excluded from the debate, arguing that the company had established from the start that its nitrous oxide had never been intended for an audience of children and young people, Regardless, he was criticized for urging children to use the product because of the “colorful design” of the cylinders.
Artist SZA recently joined the debate, and assured that “There is something very frightening about these childish designs and marketing. “Stars and bright colors?” he wrote on his X account.
Gail Saltz, a psychoanalyst and attending physician associated with NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, told New York Times that Although the illegal use of nitrous oxide among young people is not a recent problem, the novelty lies in its undeniably attractive design for this audience.
“Consciously or subliminally, the message is: ‘Children can use this’” assured the expert.
However, the brand’s spokesperson defended itself and said that the wide range of flavors and colors present in the cylinder design was due to Nitrous oxide was not only sold for culinary use, but also as a sexual product.
“Some customers use Galaxy Gas because they like whipped cream lubricants to taste better. “Our marketing clearly speaks to this use and we have never attempted to market or sell our products to children,” he explained.
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.