The EU drugs agency has expressed concern at the growth in the supply and recreational use of laughing gas by young people across many countries including Ireland.
In new research, almost one in four Irish people said they had used the gas – otherwise known as nitrous oxide – at some stage in their lives, Of those, almost 39 per cent said they had tried it for the first time within the last year.
The rising popularity of the gas as a recreational drug is creating greater risk and harm among teenagers inexperienced with drugs, according to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
It claimed the availability of the drug at low cost was also linked with an increase in reported poisonings.
Blindboy: ‘I left my first day of school feeling great shame. The pain of that still rises up in me’
What time is the Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano fight? Irish start time, Netflix details and all you need to know
Gladiator II review: Don’t blame Paul Mescal but there’s no good reason for this jumbled sequel to exist
Spice Village takeaway review: Indian food in south Dublin that will keep you coming back
A new report by the centre said nitrous oxide, which has a variety of legitimate uses including as a food additive and as an anaesthetic, was found to cause varying degrees of damage to the nervous system due to the irreversible inactivation of vitamin B12 in the body.
It warned that users could also suffer severe frostbite from exposure to the drug as well as lung injuries.
While nitrous oxide is not a controlled substance in Ireland under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, it is illegal to sell it for its psychoactive properties.
According to the research, almost three out of 10 people who had used the drug said they had first used it when travelling as a tourist outside Ireland.
Just over one in 10 said they were occasional rather than infrequent users of nitrous oxide.
The report said 91 per cent of Irish users stated they had taken the drug by inhaling from a balloon, while 11 per cent said they had inhaled from a canister.
It also revealed that 26 per cent said they used at least 10 canisters on a typical occasion when taking the drug while 21 per cent said they only used a single canister.
The most common setting for using nitrous oxide was at a domestic party (63 per cent) or at home (59 per cent).
[ ‘My cancer will eventually take my life, but not before I’ve lived it’Opens in new window ]
However, the report said the low proportion of the drugs used in clubs or bars (14 per cent) might be explained by their closure as a result of Covid-19 restrictions.
More than half of respondents said people usually shared the drug with them or gave it to them free, while 30 per cent said they usually bought it online.
Organisations involved in drug treatment services said it was used by early teens in parks and wastelands and by older teens who use it at house parties.
They said there was also a growing tend for people in their early 20s to use it at parties or as “pre-loading” before going out.
Figures show there were fewer than five cases of people needing treatment for use of the drug in Ireland in 2020, but that figure increased to 10, according to preliminary data for 2021.
A medical report by staff at St James’s Hospital in Dublin earlier this year recorded two cases of young males who presented in the hospital’s emergency department with progressive disorders of nerves in their arms and legs related to their use of nitrous oxide.
EMCDDA director Alexis Goosdeel said there is a general perception among users that inhalation of nitrous oxides is safe.
However, he said the serious harm the drug could cause meant it was important to avoid normalising and unintentionally promoting its use.
“Targeted intervention and further research are needed to increase understanding of the risks and reduce harms,” said Mr Goosdeel.