This is how dangerous the kick from the capsule is

It is pleasantly cool and quiet in the shop in Friedrichshafen city center on this summer’s day. The shelves and boxes made of light wood are filled with packaging in a wide variety of colors. At first glance, it reminds you of a candy store from your own childhood – colorful, more colorful, bright. In keeping with this, on a table near the sales counter there is a cylindrical container with the inscription: Cream Whip.

What is in the packaging may taste sweet, but should not be put in children’s mouths. It is tobacco for water pipes in a wide variety of flavors. And the “whipped cream” is not what it seems at first glance: the bottle contains 2000 grams of laughing gas.

Previously capsules, now two-kilo bottles

Nitrous oxide – known as laughing gas – is a substance that is not only used in the industrial and medical sectors. Filled into capsules and screwed onto a dispenser, it helps to whip cream. However, scientists at the Goethe University in Frankfurt are sounding the alarm about the latest trend. In their Study on drug and media consumption among young peoplepublished by the Center for Drug Research (CDR), scientists found a sharp increase in nitrous oxide consumption among young people.

The abuse of laughing gas as a party drug has been going on for a long time. The gas was already being offered at fairs in the early 19th century to entertain the public. In the 1990s it experienced a renaissance in the techno scene. After a decline lasting several years, however, laughing gas consumption rose to a new high last year, according to Frankfurt scientists.

In response to a request from CDU state parliament member Michael Preusch, the Baden-Württemberg Interior Ministry stated that reports of laughing gas abuse among young people in Baden-Württemberg were also increasing. The gas is now available in different flavors and in much larger containers – a clear sign of higher demand and increasing abuse, according to the Interior Ministry.

Social media is partly to blame for dangerous trends

For a few months now, the water pipe shop in Friedrichshafen has also been stocking nitrous oxide. An employee who wishes to remain anonymous says: “The whole hype about nitrous oxide was caused by the challenges on TikTok.” Countless young people uploaded videos to the internet platform showing how they filled nitrous oxide from cartridges into balloons and then inhaled it. Demand then rose sharply. “Everyone wanted to try nitrous oxide,” says the employee. Customers pay just under 32 euros for a 640-gram bottle, while a bottle containing two kilos of nitrous oxide costs 70 euros.

Demand is particularly high among young people between the ages of 18 and 25. Young people under the age of 18 also visit the shop looking for laughing gas. “But he hasn’t sold them anything,” says the employee. “Laughing gas is legal to buy and, unlike tobacco, there is no age limit.” Nevertheless, the risks are known. “And people have a different sense of responsibility towards young people,” says the salesperson. But how dangerous is the kick from the capsule really?

Is this how doctors assess the situation?

Nitrous oxide is a psychoactive substance. As soon as it is inhaled, consciousness changes. Consumers feel relaxed, calm and euphoric for a short time. Till Reckert from the professional association of pediatricians says: “The dose makes the poison.” When patients are given nitrous oxide, they are monitored by doctors. “In the wild, it’s a matter of luck to get the right dose,” warns the doctor with a doctorate.

An overdose can lead to oxygen deficiency and frostbite. In addition, the consumption of large amounts of laughing gas can lead to a vitamin B-12 deficiency and cause neurological damage. In Reckert’s view, the substance, which can still be used today as a mild anesthetic for dental treatments or childbirth, should not be sold freely.

For the first time, people died due to nitrous oxide consumption

The Baden-Württemberg Interior Ministry pointed out that laughing gas is not currently covered by the Narcotics Act, which is why its abuse is not recorded statistically. This makes it difficult to assess how the trend has developed in recent years. What is certain, however, is that last year saw the first reported five deaths linked to laughing gas.

According to a Study by the Institute for Therapy ResearchThe current focus of consumption is in North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Germany. However, according to a sample of young people in Baden-Württemberg, laughing gas is also on the rise – even among twelve-year-olds, said a spokeswoman for Southwest Health Minister Manfred Lucha (Greens). The problem: Many young people consider its consumption to be harmless because laughing gas can be purchased legally.

Manfred Lucha for educational and preventive work

Lucha’s ministry advocates education and prevention work. Countries such as Great Britain, the Netherlands and Denmark have now banned the private possession of laughing gas because it can be abused as a drug. In France, the sale to people under 18 is now prohibited.

Health Minister Lucha supports the Federal Council’s call to create a legal framework to restrict the sale of nitrous oxide to children and young people to such an extent that abuse could be prevented, it continues.

The federal government should also examine whether it would be sensible to include laughing gas in the New Psychoactive Substances Act (NpSG). However, a spokeswoman for Luchas stressed the need to continue to be able to use laughing gas in an industrial and medical context, as it is subject to pharmaceutical regulations there. The establishment of a black market must also be avoided at all costs.

Lauterbach calls for stricter rules

After criticism from parents and doctors Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is pushing for stricter rulesto curb the sale of laughing gas, especially to young people. In May, he said: “The rapid spread among children and young people must be a concern for all of us. Things cannot stay as they are now.” Lauterbach was referring in particular to sales in convenience stores or vending machines. If the Federal Minister of Health has his way, the law will be changed after the summer break and will come into force before the end of the year.

The Union faction in the Bundestag supports Lauterbach’s plan, but also criticizes it. The Federal Minister of Health could have linked the plan to the Medical Research Act before the summer break, says health expert Tino Sorge (CDU), stressing: “Instead, it will probably be at least autumn before Parliament can deal with it.” A lot of valuable time is being lost here, which we do not have to protect children and young people.”

There are no customers looking for laughing gas in the Friedrichshafen store this afternoon. A fact that does not surprise the salesperson. The hype about laughing gas from capsules is already waning, at least among his customers. “People have tried it and it’s good.”