The nitrous oxide or “hilarious gas” poisoning, a substance to increasing popularity, continue to progress, warned the health authorities on Wednesday, April 16, noting consequences for newborns for the first time because of consumption during pregnancy.
“Since 2020, the reports of poisoning linked to the diverted use of nitrogen oxide, or ” Proto ”, have been up continuously,” said the National Agency for Medicines (ANSM), Public Health France and the Health Agency (ANSES) in a statement.
Lasting neurological consequences
This gas, often described as “hilarious”, normally serves in the kitchen, for example in whipped cream siphons. But it is the subject of recreational use, especially in adolescents and young adults, whose neurological consequences can be serious and durable.
Its popularity is growing and the health authorities had already worried about it two years ago. Their last figures, which go back to 2023, confirm that the phenomenon is growing. They are based on data from two different types of organizations, evaluation and information centers on pharmacodependence addictovigilance (CEIP-A) and anti-poison and toxicovigilance centers (CAP-TV).
Two serious cases on newborns
The former observed 472 reports in 2023 and the second 305, or respective increases of 30 % and 20 % compared to the previous year. These figures, which only concern the poisoning listed, give only a limited vision of the scale of the general consumption of nitrogen oxide, on which the data remains limited. The figures on poisoning, however, give notable trends: “We note that the share of the reports concerning women increases”, notice the agencies.
They also mention a novelty: for the first time, two cases concerning newborns were identified as a result of the use of nitrogen oxide by their mothers during pregnancy.
“We are particularly alerting pregnant women and of childbearing age on the potentially serious risks for the birth of”
Restriction measures
Recreational nitrogen protoxide: a 1st teleconsultation to limit the risk of addiction
Since the beginning of 2024, more than thirty patients have been hospitalized at the Pierre Wertheimer Hospital (Lyon Civil Hospices) due to the effects linked to the recreational use of nitrogen protoxide. Among them, a 22 -year -old young man must now move with crutches, a 16 -year -old teenager suffers from serious neurological disorders, and a young patient, so dependent, consumes this gas even during her stay in follow -up and rehabilitation. Faced with the rise in hospitalizations, the Civil Hospices in Lyon (HCL) inaugurate the first teleconsultation in France specially dedicated to consumers of nitrogen oxide.
