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InvestigatesLaughing GasA PSYCHEDELIC DRUG, used by teenagers and party goers, could be bought by Irish shoppers on popular online sites.
The Journal Investigates found large canisters of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, on online classified ad sites and even the Irish version of Amazon.
During our investigation, we could also buy it directly from brands who sell the gas online, revealing just how easy it can be for anyone, including children, to obtain it.
When the sale of large canisters of the gas was put to these sites, they all either removed most of the products from sale or prevented them being shipped to Ireland. One listing remains live on Amazon at the time of publication.
Health and drug experts told us they were very concerned that such canisters could be bought online, warning of the devastating health impacts it can have.
“Everything we know about drugs and alcohol suggests that you need to control supply and the availability of substances,” said Trevor Bissett, a coordinator with the Clondalkin Drug and Alcohol Task Force. “And this one has no limitations around it at all.”
Nitrous oxide is a colourless, sweet-smelling gas that is sometimes used in medicine for sedation or pain relief. It is also used in catering to make whipped cream, making policing its import and use challenging.
Recreational use has surged in recent years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic, when other drugs were more difficult to obtain.
Its use can have devastating impacts, with multiple deaths in Europe of teenagers and people in their 20s in recent years, including 15-year-old Tallaght teenager Alex Ryan in 2020.
Nitrous oxide is now used more by secondary school students than other drugs, such as cocaine and ecstasy, a recent Technological University Dublin study found.
After his death, Alex’s parents pushed for government action to restrict the drug’s availability, but five years on, nitrous oxide remains in a legal grey area.
It is not a controlled substance under Ireland’s Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, though it is an offence to sell a psychoactive substance – which nitrous oxide is – for human consumption. After much campaigning, it was classified as a controlled drug in the UK in 2023.
The gas also has a legitimate use in the catering industry making whipped cream in restaurants or commercial kitchens. This has made policing its import and use challenging.
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Nitrous oxide used to come in small silver, cylindrical containers, sometimes called ‘whippets’ or ‘bullets’. But it’s now possible to buy far larger canisters, potentially increasing people’s intake of the drug.
Large canisters contain over 600 grams of nitrous oxide gas, while the whippets contain around 8 grams. Our investigative team found both online.
We also found discarded canisters as large as 2kg near a nightclub area in Dublin.
Both large canisters and whippets were for sale on the Irish Amazon store.
Most were boxes of whippets intended to make whipped cream, but our team also found listings for large canisters of nitrous oxide that come with balloons.
Tony Duffin, an expert in drug and alcohol policy, told The Journal Investigates that its “recreational use involves discharging gas from the canisters into a balloon before inhaling”.
Balloons are used as inhaling the gas directly from the canister can lead to devastating frostbite burns.
Amazon also prompted us to purchase more balloons with the nitrous oxide as part of the ‘frequently bought together’ promo.
The same seller had three listings of the same large canister of gas on Amazon. Two of these were removed after we contacted Amazon about their sale, but at the time of publication, one listing remains live.
“Customer safety is a top priority”, a spokesperson for Amazon told The Journal Investigates. “We have a number of measures in place to prevent abuse and we proactively monitor for products which violate our policies.”
They did not respond to questions about why balloons were advertised as part of the ‘frequently bought together’ promotion.
Our team also found large canisters of a popular nitrous oxide brand listed on Adverts.ie, with boxes of whippets advertised for making whipped cream also readily available from another classified ad site.
“Ads for nitrous oxide are not permitted,” a spokesperson for Adverts.ie owner, Distilled Media, told us. The ads we found have now been taken down.
While nitrous oxide has legitimate uses, moderation teams flag ads that are suspicious or have “pricing or descriptions inconsistent with food-grade or industrial use”, the spokesperson added.
They also advised parents to supervise “minors’ activity on the site and to discuss online safety and potential risks with them”.
The Journal Investigates was also able to buy large canisters of a brand called Cream Deluxe – a popular nitrous oxide brand – directly from its website.
Cream Deluxe claims to sell “innovative solutions for the catering industry”, but its marketing material says that its nitrous oxide canister is “designed for those who live life to the fullest” and is “crafted to fuel nights you’ll never forget”.
There are currently no age restrictions on nitrous oxide but under the Child Care Act 1991, it is an offence to sell a substance that is likely to be inhaled by under-18s for the purpose of causing intoxication.
The Cream Deluxe website does prompt you to confirm that you are over 18 when entering it for the first time. There were no checks when purchasing nitrous oxide from Amazon.
A bill currently before the Dáil aims to restrict the drug’s misuse by introducing age restrictions for under-18s.
Sinn Féin TD Mark Ward, who proposed the bill, told The Journal Investigates that he believes these large canisters are being marketed toward young people.
“They’re colourful, they’re attractive…[and] there’s flavours coming out in these nitrous oxide canisters.”
They’re absolutely being targeted to young people and the party scene.
We reached out to FastGas and ExoticWhip – the two brands of nitrous oxide found for sale online – but we did not receive a response prior to publication.
Our team also found FastGas canisters littering areas in Dublin, including 35 canisters of this and various other brands thrown near a late-night venue.
We contacted Cream Deluxe about their marketing material and being able to purchase directly from its website.
A spokesperson told us that they have “initiated an internal investigation to understand how our products may have been marketed” towards young people.
“We strongly discourage the misuse of our products under any circumstances,” they said, also claiming that they “do not engage in direct-to-consumer sales” or “operate or manage any webshop”.
When asked about the ‘shop’ button on their website, the spokesperson clarified that this redirects to a partner page that “is not owned or operated” by them.
They said that they have asked the webshop owner to “block orders from Ireland” and said they would remove the shop link from their website for Irish visitors.
When contacted by our team, the webshop owner told us they “sell only food-grade nitrous oxide for culinary use”. They added: “All customers must accept our terms of sale, which clearly prohibit recreational use.”
We have suspended all shipments to Ireland with immediate effect and removed the country from our delivery options.
Our order from Cream Deluxe never arrived after being seized by Revenue in Dublin. A letter from Revenue later said that our order would be disposed of.
Ward said that Revenue is doing a good job of “stopping some of the canisters from getting in but there’s obviously an awful lot [still] getting in”.
While the high from inhaling nitrous oxide is short-lived – only for up to a minute – it can be detrimental to your health.
Its usual effects can include “dissociation, giddiness, time distortion and, for some, headaches, dizziness or nausea”, according to policy expert Tony Duffin.
But for some, the impacts are life-changing. This ranges from “devastating burns” while attempting to inhale the gas to paralysis and suffocation.
Dr Chris Luke, a retired consultant in emergency medicine told us:
Nitrous oxide gas can displace the oxygen in the lungs and in the body, and you can asphyxiate and die.
Prolonged use can lead to “people who are basically paralysed or [have] devastating permanent numbness in their legs or their arms”, Luke added.
It can have wider impacts on society. Over the past two years in the UK, a number of teenagers and people in their 20s have killed people while driving high on the drug. Among those killed were passengers who were friends or family, people in cars they crashed into and pedestrians.
This is an issue here too, according to drug safety advocates who spoke to us.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health told The Journal Investigates that it is “imperative” that evidence-based initiatives “that engage with people who may be at risk of using drugs” are supported.
Parents should also be well informed about nitrous oxide, they added, and specific information is available on drugs.ie.
A spokesperson for the HSE said that “addressing the dangers of nitrous oxide use requires a multifaceted approach” and that they are “committed to monitoring and addressing the use of nitrous oxide through targeted messaging”.
Nitrous oxide is also a significant contributor to climate change – around 270 times more potent than carbon dioxide – and there have been moves made to phase out its use in medicine as a result.
Though it is being phased out by some industries, because of its legitimate use, Ward told us that nitrous oxide can’t be outright banned like some other drugs.
The long-time campaigner’s bill aims to instead restrict the misuse of nitrous oxide. It proposes that sellers must have a licence and it can only be sold to a registered provider in select industries, such as catering and medicine.
The bill would not criminalise those who take the drug. “Most times, it’s a young person who is the end user,” Ward said.
Instead, it focuses on limiting the supply and providing the powers of confiscation to the gardaí.
“This is something that shouldn’t be political. This is something that will stop a problem that is causing effects to an awful lot of young people out there”.
Note: Journal Media Ltd has shareholders in common with Adverts.ie owner Distilled Media Group.
Reporter: Conor O’Carroll • Editor & Additional Research: Maria Delaney • Social Media: Cliodhna Travers • Main Image Design: Lorcan O’Reilly
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