The deputies will look into a text tabled by the Insoumis which seeks to fight against the consumption of laughing gas, which has been growing sharply among young people for several years.
One more step in the fight against laughing gas. The Social Affairs Committee of the National Assembly is examining, this Wednesday, January 22, a bill aimed at restricting the sale of nitrous oxide to professionals in the medical and catering sectors. This text, tabled on November 19 by LFI elected official Idir Boumertit, is intended to be transpartisan given the public health risks. Many deputies, from all political sides, have in fact signed this bill, like the Macronists Karl Olive and Maud Petit, Richard Ramos (MoDem) and the Republican Ian Boucard.
Usually used in the medical field for its anesthetic and analgesic properties, nitrous oxide is also used in cooking as a pressurizing gas for food aerosols, in cartridges for whipped cream siphons for example. But for several years, public authorities have observed an explosion in diverted consumption of this «proto» by young people for recreational purposes. According to the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Trends, nitrous oxide is one of the substances most consumed by young people in France behind cannabis and poppers.
Serious risks
Some film themselves and post videos of themselves on social networks inhaling this laughing gas injected into a balloon. However, this practice has proven to be extremely dangerous for health, sometimes causing the death of the consumer. The Hauts-de-France Regional Health Agency warns that the risks of“asphyxia from lack of oxygen, loss of consciousness, cold burns, disorientation…” Regular consumption can also lead to “spinal cord damage and anemia” as well as “psychological disorders”.
“This is an observation shared by all parliamentarians in their constituency, it causes heart risks when mixed with the consumption of energy drinks and the damage to the brain is terrible”alerts the LFI deputy Aurélien Taché to the Parisian .
-“The average age of consumption is 22 years. But we also know that for the first consumption of a psychotropic product among very, very young people, that is to say adolescents and pre-adolescents, between 12 and 16 years old, it is nitrous oxide which is favored. and often in the most popular circles”specifies the elected official from Val-d’Oise on France Info.
Prevention and prohibition
This is why this bill includes a preventive component by strengthening actions to raise awareness of misused consumption. In addition, it is placed under the aegis of Midelca (Interministerial Mission to Combat Drugs and Addictive Behaviors, under the authority of the Prime Minister). The latter tends to prevent “dangerous uses of nitrous oxide”according to the law of June 1, 2021.
Worried about this growing phenomenon, the Paris town hall had already taken steps to ban the use of this laughing gas in hundreds of streets and squares in the capital for minors. “From December 24, 2024 to March 24, 2025 inclusive, the consumption of nitrous oxide in all forms is prohibited for minors on public roads,” announced the first article of the text. Moreover, “the possession by miners of aluminum cartridges, canisters, and bottles containing nitrous oxide or any other pressurized container containing this gas” was also banned.
