r/science • u/Wagamaga • 1d ago
Health Misuse of nitrous oxide linked to rising deaths and hospitalizations. The number of deaths in the U.S attributed to nitrous oxide poisonings rose by more than 110% between 2019 and 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://olemiss.edu/news/2025/4/nitrous-oxide-abuse-study/index.html58
u/Danimalomorph 1d ago
When you say "rose by more than 110%" but give no actual numbers you are being disingenuous. Fewer than 100 - many many fewer than 100 - out of those 13 million, Why frame it differently than reality?
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u/Medical_Bartender 21h ago
Functional b12 deficiency is a problem with nitrous oxide through oxidation leading eventually to myelin sheath disruption and nerve dysfunction among other downstream effects.
While the mortality may not be high, I suspect there is significantly more morbidity not being recognized surrounding increased nitrous use in the community.
I did have one patient who ruptured a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation while at a nitrous party. Thankfully survived
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u/DriftMantis 1d ago
It's good that it doesn't have the same order of magnitude of preventable death as Tylenol, then people would really think it's dangerous.
Most pointless article ever.
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u/mjbat7 1d ago
So, from 50/year to 105/year? I'm not sure this is a public health issue.
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u/Lesurous 1d ago
They're selling whippets in convenience stores now, call it Galaxy Gas. The commercial selling of nitrous oxide correlating with double the death rate is pretty significant with that context in mind. There's also the consideration of the amount of brain damage being inflicted.
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u/NightBloomingAuthor 1d ago
There was a really good LongReads about this exactly: https://longreads.com/2025/01/07/the-next-drug-epidemic-is-blue-raspberry-flavored/
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u/mjbat7 1d ago
I'm pretty sure the average nitrous user isn't experiencing any significant brain damage. If you inhale 5 bulbs in a row without taking a breath of fresh air, you might get into acute hypoxia territory. You know what happens in acute hypoxia? You lose consciousness, stop inhaling nitrous, breathe, and rapidly recover. Your total hypoxia time is too brief to have a significant long-term neurological effect in the vast majority of cases. Acute hypoxia is very rare among nitrous users. So a very rare event is still very unlikely to cause a severe health impact.
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u/DickButkisses 1d ago
My cousin died from nitrous, because he had a tank strapped to his face that they’d stolen from a dentist or something. It’s very rare, but it’s not unheard of. They all started with bulbs and a cracker, too.
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u/KrukzGaming 14h ago
BECAUSE HE HAD A TANK STRAPPED TO HIS FACE
He didn't die from nitrous, he died from lack of oxygen
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u/BrothelWaffles 5h ago
That's like saying people don't die from heroin and fentanyl, they just stop breathing and die from lack of oxygen. He lacked oxygen because his lungs were full of nitrous.
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u/Cautious_Parsley_898 18h ago
That sounds intentional and in darker days, that was the method that I was planning to use to end it all.
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u/DickButkisses 17h ago
Nah he was just careless, his dad came home and found him. He was with friends and they’d just bailed. There was a half a joint in the ashtray next to him. He had tickets to an upcoming concert that I went to in his place, my uncle asked me and my sister to go and try to enjoy it. Pearl Jam, 1993.
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u/Lesurous 23h ago
Nitrous oxide causes brain damage over long term use. Also, any amount of brain damage is significant. The brain is one of the most delicate organs in your body, hence it is protected by a skull.
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u/bananahead 16h ago
Sure but if you were to rank preventable causes of brain damage I’m not sure this even makes the list. Letting kids play tackle football for example.
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u/Phantom160 22h ago
Agreed. I hope that one day we'll have comprehensive research on the long-term effects of various stimulants sold over the counter (including vapes and nitrous oxide). However, I don't think it's a public health issue when the magnitude is in the realm of "lightning strikes deaths".
I'm not advocating for the misuse of substances (god forbid, no), but I come to this sub to see statistics and rational arguments as to why one substance is safe and another one is dangerous. Unfortunately, people will always find ways to trade their long-term health for a short-term thrill. The best we can do as a society is to study the issue, offer safer options, and engage in harm reduction.
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u/jokersvoid 1d ago
Doesn't help that they sell huge cans at the smoke shops.
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u/Dweebl 19h ago
Yeah god forbid they sell a relatively benign psychedelic at stores where they sell other drugs. Take nitrous off the shelves at head shops but keep vodka at the corner store.
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u/jokersvoid 18h ago
Honestly, I am for the decriminalization of all substances. I think with education and support it would allow people to self medicate and take a lot of strain off of services. The education and promoting safe practices would save lives and take the stigma away from things. I thinknit would decrease violence and create a new industry
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u/Wagamaga 1d ago
Despite a recent Food and Drug Administration warning against inhaling nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, deaths due to misusing the substance are rising in the United States.
Andrew Yockey, University of Mississippi assistant professor of public health, and Rachel Hoopsick, assistant professor of health and kinesiology at the University of Illinois, are studying the rise of nitrous oxide misuse.
"This is a chemical that is commonly used as a sedative or anesthetic, but what we're seeing is a rise in recreational use," Yockey said. "But what we're also seeing is also a rise in hospitalizations, in poisonings and in deaths."
More than 13 million Americans have misused nitrous oxide in their lifetimes, according to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The number of deaths attributed to nitrous oxide poisonings rose by more than 110% between 2019 and 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2949916X25000143
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