3% of 18 to 35 year olds consumed nitrous oxide in 2023 according to Santé Publique France. This so-called “hilarious” gas but which can have serious physical consequences is the subject of a prevention campaign.
The regional health agencies of Île-de-France and Hauts-de-France have decided to launch an awareness campaign on the risks of nitrous oxide. A gas inhaled by 3% of 18 to 35 year olds this year, according to Public Health France, and which can have particularly serious consequences. Thus, Pierre, 24, lost the use of his legs after repeated consumption.
For him, “hilarious” gas was a few cans on the weekend with friends to party and be euphoric. “I knew it could be dangerous, but I didn’t think it could affect me this seriously.“, he whispers.
Until the day everything changes: “It started with a little tingling and one day I couldn’t walk, I was vomiting and I felt unwell.” The strong young man with the physique of a footballer spent two months in hospital, he hopes to walk normally again soon: “I’m starting to walk a little without crutches, I can cover 40 meters.”
Consumption difficult to quantify
Today, Pierre delivers a clear message to all those who, like him, are tempted by a bit of “proto” in the evening: “It is better not to consume it, the effects are fleeting, lasting just a few seconds. Frankly, the game is not worth the effort.”
To avoid other accidents like this, teenagers and young adults are now the target of a prevention campaign broadcast on social networks in the form of voice messages. How many people actually consume nitrous oxide? Difficult to quantify: patients like Pierre, the emergency services of the Saint-Denis hospital (Seine-Saint-Denis) see several arrive every month. “This is the tip of the iceberg since the vast majority of nitrous oxide consumers will take a long time to feel physical effects which are, for us, warning signs, but not necessarily for them, as tinglingspecifies Joëlle Laugier, head of the addiction department at Saint-Denis hospital.
“Now we are starting to realize how long this can last, and even be irreversible in some cases.”
Joëlle Laugierat franceinfo
Nitrous oxide, often called “laughing gas”, is therefore nothing funny: this is the meaning of the prevention campaign launched by the Regional Health Agencies of Île-de-France and Hauts- de-France, including voice messages on social networks. The goal: to alert teenagers and young adults of the risks, but also to be vigilant about the sale of this product, which is theoretically prohibited to minors.
“We tested by creating a profile on Snapchat of a young girl by entering a department and an age, specifying that she was a minor. And I assure you that in just four minutes, by typing ‘balloon’, you can quickly find very large quantities to buy without anyone asking any questions“, denounces Amélie Verdier, director of the Regional Health Agency of Île-de-France, who hopes that this awareness campaign will make it possible to “bring out the numbers” of consumption.
All information on the risks of nitrous oxide can now be found on the website:PARONS-PROTO.FR
The consumption of nitrous oxide at the heart of a campaign aimed at young people: the report by Solenne Le Hen