VSA Headlines - January 2020

On 30th January, PHE published their annual Substance misuse treatment in secure settings report for 2018 to 2019. There were 85 adults in treatment for solvents (up from 65 in 2017-18) and 30 young people (down from 34 in 2017-18). The median age of young people in treatment for solvents within secure settings remained constant at 16.

UK

Mum jailed for giving son cocktail of alcohol and drugs that killed him: [She] sat with [her son]and one of his friends drinking booze, sniffing aerosol cans and popping powerful painkillers in the kitchen of her home in Salcombe, Devon.

Missing man was found dead in Tavistock canal by dog walker: [He] was reported missing on March 13, 2019, where staff observed earlier in the day he had been drinking and was suspected of solvent abuse.

Council office evacuated after man claims bomb planted by ISIS: Hundreds of staff had to be evacuated from a council building in Bootle after a man high on butane gas claimed one of their receptionists was in ISIS and had planted a bomb there.

Hippy crack is a ‘perfectly safe’ alternative to drinking, claims ex-Government drugs tsar: Prof David Nutt said the gas, nitrous oxide, provides “fun without the risk of alcohol” and blamed hysteria for it “wrongly” being banned ... But Stephen Ream, of drug charity Re-Solv, said: “Inhaling nitrous oxide, like any substance used for intoxication, carries risks.”

Justice secretary hits back at criticism of nitrous oxide ban: Robert Buckland says laughing gas is dangerous after David Nutt argues beer is more toxic.

What is laughing gas, what are the risks of inhaling it and is it illegal? As one of the most commonly used drugs among 16 to 24-year-olds, laughing gas has become an increasing cause of concern and debate in recent years.

Justice secretary hits back at criticism of nitrous oxide ban: Robert Buckland says laughing gas is dangerous after David Nutt argues beer is more toxic.

Thousands of nitrous oxide capsules taken off the streets of Cardiff: 2424 capsules of nitrous oxide have been taken off the streets of Cardiff yesterday, through a successful forfeiture order which was granted by Cardiff Magistrates’ Court.

Nitrous Oxide (‘Laughing Gas’) Warning in Poynton: Recently the Council Community Support Team have had several reports of Nitrous Oxide canisters being discarded in public areas around Poynton, in particular around Marley Road and Chester Road.

One man's mission to highlight 'laughing gas' dangers with canister collection: "If I stop just one person using them then mission accomplished."

Laughing gas canisters found during church’s litter pick: More laughing gas canisters have been removed from the streets just days after hundreds were found by community litter pickers.

Concern after collection of Nitrous Oxide canisters found in Yate subway: A resident in Yate has called for quick action in a troublesome Yate subway after they found dozens of Nitrous Oxide canisters.

South Holland sees sharp increase in NOS use: Police in South Holland (Lincolnshire) are putting out a warning after seeing an increase in the use of NOS gas.

Dozens of laughing gas canisters litter council car park outside HMP Bronzefield: Spelthorne Borough Council has said they "regularly" have to remove silver canisters from the site

IRELAND

HSE warns young people of dangers of laughing gas (VA): The HSE has warned young people about the dangers of using laughing gas, saying it can lead to death by suffocation.

FRANCE

Increasing use of “laughing gas”: The French government in November warned that: "The misuse of nitrous oxide was not new, but the number and severity of adverse reactions related to using it have tended to increase since 2018."

BELGIUM

Laughing gas will soon be banned across Brussels region: Possession or recreational use of laughing gas will is on track to be prohibited throughout the entire Brussels-Capital Region, Brussels Mayor Philippe Close (PS) announced on Monday to the Brussels city council.

NETHERLANDS

Teenagers find it exciting to drive while using laughing gas: Nearly 60% of youngsters who abuse nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, sometimes do so in the car sometimes. This is according to the Dutch Youth Organisation, TeamAlert.

DENMARK

Crackdown on laughing gas cartridges and the Danish teenagers who abuse them: Age and purchase limits will hopefully curtail a drug craze that has reached epidemic proportions

USA

A pregnant women caught in crime of carrying aerosol cans in her purse died inside the cell: When police arrested her, they found five aerosol cans in her purse. The boxes are used to “huff” inhalants.

Man who stabbed grandfather to death found guilty, but mentally ill (MI): [He[ had a 0.08% blood alcohol content at the time and had also used more than 100 nitrous oxide canisters as a recreational drug at the time of the attack, according to [Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor] Cataldo.

Cops say he drove high on ‘whippets.’ He’s going to prison for running over lawyer, family (FL): [The defendant] pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, three counts of reckless driving and unlawful possession of nitrous oxide.

Inhalants and handgun leads to arrest (CO): According to the affidavit, one of the deputies saw the man’s head “bob up and down” and observed what looked like an aerosol can in the subject’s right hand.

Woman charged with child abuse after allegedly huffing in car (NC): A Salisbury woman was charged with child abuse after her brother reported she was unconscious in a vehicle and accused of huffing, according to Salisbury Police.

Naked suspect taken into custody after Lehigh Township standoff (PA): The victim told responding officers that [the suspect] had been huffing and drinking "all day," when he started arguing with her about dinner, police said.

Man huffs air, crashes car into house on North Rocky River Drive in Berea (OH): According to the man, witnesses and police, the man lost consciousness while driving after inhaling or “huffing” compressed air from a can of Wexford Compressed Gas Duster.

Woman was huffing before causing multi-vehicle crash in West Bend (WI): A 47-year-old woman accused of "huffing" was arrested after authorities say she caused a multi-vehicle crash in West Bend on Friday, Jan. 17.

Impaired driver crashed SUV onto its side (IN): An investigation determined [he] was intoxicated and he admitted to inhaling duster, police said.

Police find woman on bathroom floor; emplty cans of air duster beside her (TN): [She] is charged with inhaling or possessing to inhale fumes (aka ‘huffing’) after she walked into an Office Depot, took cans off the shelf, and retreated to the restroom to use them.

Two men arrested after sniffing toxic vapors (IN): “While speaking with both suspects they appeared to be intoxicated and admitted to huffing air duster and spray paint,” says Chief Moore.

Man cited for possession of inhalants twice (OR): An Umpqua man was cited for unlawful possession of inhalants, twice on Saturday.

Inhaled Nitrous Oxide as a Rapid Acting Antidepressant; Conway, Charles, Biological Psychiatry, Volume 85, Issue 10, S51.

INDIA

Alarming rise in addiction to inhalants among city teenagers: Growing addiction of inhalants in teenagers has become a cause of concern in the city. Addiction is largely seen in children belonging to poor class, labour class and in children of low-middle income groups. It has come as a new challenge for psychiatrists, counselors and psychotherapists in Nagpur. The problem of inhalant addiction in children of adolescent age is severe in the entire country.

CHINA

Rare case of Subacute combined degeneration induced by nitrous oxide inhalation: Dr Huimin Zhao at Dept of Neurology, The Second Affiliate Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China and colleagues have reported a rare case of Subacute combined degeneration caused by excessive inhalation of nitrous oxide.

KENYA

Grass to grace: How glue-sniffing street boy ended up being a pilot: Whenever Michael Mwangi told his fellow street boys that one day he would fly an aeroplane, they would scoff at him and tell him those were hallucinations triggered by sniffing too much glue.

AUSTRALIA

'Rexona killed my son': Chroming tore family apart: "Volatile substance misuse is an enormously complex social issue affecting the entire aerosol industry with no simple solution ..."

Teens inhaling deodorant in new alarming trend: Queensland hospitals have seen a 32 per cent increase in patients being treated for the ‘chroming’ fad since 2016.

Lethal ‘chroming’ fad on the rise among Queensland youth: The Courier Mail reports children are passing out in gutters outside schools after engaging in the practice, which involves the inhaling of solvents like paint, petrol and aerosol deodorants.

Woman paralysed for two months after taking laughing gas: A social media star was bedridden for weeks and unable to walk after inhaling popular party drug nitrous oxide.