![\"Doctors](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2022\/11\/16\/11\/64604727-11434279-image-a-32_1668598981919.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe dangers of drink driving are well-known, with widespread campaigns and tough laws ensuring most people think twice before getting behind the wheel after having one too many.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But experts warned today of a separate problem blighting Britain’s roads \u2014 ‘hippy crack’.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands yesterday outlawed the sale and possession of nitrous oxide, as it is officially known, in what is thought to be a first for a European country.<\/p>\n
Dutch<\/a> officials claimed the crackdown was prompted by a surge in road accidents caused by drivers using the mind-bending drug, with 1,800 recorded over the last three years.<\/p>\n
Doctors warn that using the drug behind the wheel is extremely dangerous because it starves the brain of oxygen and impairs the senses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Road safety campaigners want the UK Government to do more to stop drivers doing it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Doctors told MailOnline using nitrous oxide behind the wheel is extremely dangerous because it starves the brain of oxygen and impairs the senses<\/p>\n
![\"Four](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2020\/08\/12\/12\/31862556-8619277-image-m-4_1597232449589.jpg\")
![\"Police](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2022\/11\/16\/11\/31862550-11434279-olice_suspect_they_may_have_been_taking_laughing_gas_before_the_-a-31_1668598499216.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Four Brits driving around Amsterdam’s red-light district ended up in a picturesque city canal in August 2020.\u00a0Police suspect they may have been taking laughing gas before the incident<\/p>\n
Nitrous Oxide, has been nicknamed ‘laughing gas’ due to the euphoric and relaxed feeling people who inhale it can sometimes feel.<\/p>\n
The substance – also known as ‘hippy crack’ – is normally bought in pressured canisters, commonly transferred to a container, e.g. a balloon, from which the gas is inhaled.<\/p>\n
Although possession of laughing gas is not illegal, English law prohibits its sale to under-18s if there is a chance they will inhale it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Nitrous](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2019\/06\/27\/08\/7115480-6469653-Nitrous_Oxide_canisters_and_cigarette_butts_litter_a_roadside_in-a-3_1561619780783.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Nitrous Oxide canisters and cigarette butts litter a roadside in Camden Town on February 11<\/p>\n
The effects of nitrous oxide vary depending on how much has been inhaled but they include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Feelings of euphoria, relaxation and calmness.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Dizziness, difficulty in thinking straight and fits of giggles\/laughter.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sound distortions or even hallucinations.<\/p>\n
\u2022 In some people, a headache can be an unwanted immediate effect.<\/p>\n
Risks include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Unconsciousness or death from lack of oxygen. This occurs when the available oxygen for breathing is effectively pushed out by the nitrous oxide.<\/p>\n
Currently, nitrous oxide\u00a0\u2014 better known as ‘nos’ or laughing gas \u2014 is legally available for commercial caterers to use in whipped cream dispensers and other uses.<\/p>\n
However the silver cannisters containing the gas, which can be easily bought online, often end up in the hands of young people as a recreational drug.<\/p>\n
Only possession with intent to supply for its inebriating effects is currently illegal in Britain.<\/p>\n
But the\u00a0Home Office<\/a>\u00a0is considering a stricter ban, which could see it become illegal to own.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tighter laws could also be brought in to limit how easy it is to buy, if the Government chooses to act.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Driving under the influence of any drug, including nitrous oxide, is already outlawed.<\/p>\n
However, it is can be difficult to punish drivers using nitrous oxide because the drug only stays in the body a short time and can’t be traced in most standard drug tests.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nitrous oxide, popular at festivals, has become a popular recreational drug in the last decade. It is now the second commonly misused substance among 16 to 24-year-olds, after cannabis.<\/p>\n
Users inhale the colourless gas through balloons or canisters, which can cost just \u00a325 for industrial-sized containers.<\/p>\n
The ‘high’ kicks in immediately, causing users to feel dizzy, relaxed and giggly, and lasts one to two minutes, on average.<\/p>\n
Having too much, however, can make users faint or suffocate due to a lack of oxygen to the brain if they inhale highly concentrated forms of the gas.<\/p>\n
It can also cause dizziness, hallucinations, severe headaches and stop you thinking straight \u2014 all of which impairs driving.<\/p>\n
Heavy and regular use can cause a vitamin B12 deficiency and anaemia.<\/p>\n
Footage has shown an increasing number of Brits using it while driving, despite the array of dangers that poses.<\/p>\n
Dr David Nicholl, a consultant neurologist at Birmingham City Hospital, told MailOnline: ‘We know some drivers are “ballooning” whilst driving.<\/p>\n
‘There a number of ways it will impede driving, firstly via hypoxia \u2014 lack of oxygen \u2014 from repeated use, as nitrous oxide itself has a very short time effect, as well as the distraction itself whilst driving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Finally the short term disinhibition whilst laughing under the influence could itself be a factor.’<\/p>\n
He added: ‘I am meeting West Midlands Police next week to enquire how many arrests have been made under the Psychotropic Drugs Act (2016) for supply of NOS.’\u00a0<\/p>\n
Campaigners last month claimed more needs to be done to prevent Britons using the drug while driving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ex-traffic officer and Campaign Against Drink Driving trustee John Scruby said social media posts of drivers inhaling the gas are ‘shocking to witness’.<\/p>\n
The group supports ‘any \u00adprocedure to rid drink and drug-drivers from our streets’, he added.<\/p>\n
![\"Last](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2022\/11\/16\/11\/64604393-11434279-image-m-29_1668598433865.jpg\")
![\"Burey,](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2022\/11\/16\/11\/64604395-11434279-image-a-30_1668598441900.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Last December, Millwall football player Tyler Burey shared footage of himself appearing to take the drug while driving on social media<\/p>\n
A video in August 2020<\/a> showed four Brits being rescued from a canal in Amsterdam after they drove their car into it.<\/p>\n
Police suspected they may have been taking laughing gas before the incident.<\/p>\n
Separate footage filmed a\u00a0month later<\/a>\u00a0showed a man in east Manchester inhaling hippy crack from behind the wheel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dashcam footage shows the motorist driving along a dual carriageway in Gorton, before he stops at a set of traffic lights and begins to inhale the suspected nitrous oxide from a balloon.<\/p>\n
Moments later, his passenger begins to inhale from another balloon before throwing a silver canister out of the window.<\/p>\n
Last December, Millwall footballer Tyler Burey shared footage of himself appearing to take the drug while driving on social media.<\/p>\n
Burey, who was on loan at Hartlepool United at the time, posted the video on Snapchat before removing it 10 minutes later.<\/p>\n
Millwall launched an internal investigation into the incident and he returned to the club at the start of the year, where he has played 15 times this season.<\/p>\n
The drug is listed under the 2016 Psychoactive Substances Act in the UK, which means it is illegal to give away or sell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Supplying the drug and trying to produce it can lead to up to seven years in prison. But possession and use is not currently illegal.<\/p>\n
Driving while under the influence of any drug is illegal, however, and can lead to a minimum one year driving ban, an unlimited fine, up to six months in prison and even a criminal record.<\/p>\n
A Government commissioned review is now looking at whether more needs to be down to curb the use of larger canisters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tory MP Mark Harper is leading a parliamentary debate on nitrous oxide next Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The dangers of drink driving are well-known, with widespread campaigns and tough laws ensuring most people think twice before getting behind the wheel after having one too many.\u00a0 But experts warned today of a separate problem blighting Britain’s roads \u2014 ‘hippy crack’. The Netherlands yesterday outlawed the sale and possession of nitrous oxide, as it Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-287354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}