Source: Radio New Zealand
Nitrous oxide has legitimate medical and catering uses, but if inhaled recreationally, the gas can have dangerous long-term side effects like nerve damage in the brain and spinal cord. Phanie via AFP
Police are warning that problems around the huffing of nitrous oxide products or nangs have escalated to where people are “playing chicken” and seeing whether they can drive without blacking out after inhaling the gas.
Nitrous oxide, known as laughing gas, has legitimate medical and catering uses – including being used to whip cream.
However, if inhaled recreationally, the gas can have dangerous long-term side effects like nerve damage in the brain and spinal cord.
And while it is illegal to sell for huffing or recreational purposes, a Checkpoint investigation previously found stores were selling large canisters of the gas, which contain hundreds of hits, with virtually no questions asked.
Tusha Penny, assistant police commissioner of road policing, told Checkpoint police had seen drivers huffing from balloons in eight districts across the country. She also said she had been sent a message from a road user in a rural area who had seen a driver huffing from a balloon on the road.
“It has gone from just individual-use, sitting behind a shop and huffing, [to] getting in a road and almost playing chicken to see whether you can black out and still drive the car,” she said.
“That has really escalated the potential for harm.
“We really want parents and people on the road to ring us, to let us know.”
Penny said police suspected at least one or two fatalities had been caused by huffing nitrous oxide products and driving.
These cases were still under investigation, she said.
“If we look at the Bay of Plenty, for example, since New Year, we know there’s been some absolutely fantastic work when they’ve highlighted this.
“There’s been an investigation done and a number of drivers have actually been prosecuted and are being dealt with at the moment.”
Despite that, Penny said police had decided to focus on “education” when it came to retailers selling nitrous products illegally.
“What we’re now asking them to do is work with us because we cannot have this amount of community harm that could happen from the illegitimate sale of this item.
“We’re sitting down, we’re giving them the letter, but we’re really explaining it to them,” she said.
“That is the approach we think is best to take at the moment around prevention for a short time, engagement, asking people to work with us.”
When asked how many prosecutions of retailers allegedly selling nitrous oxide products illegally police had taken, Penny was unable to say.
“We’re being really clear on the enforcement approach that we’re going to take, and then we will move to enforcement.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
