‘Hippy crack’ no laughing matter, says top medic
A TOP doctor has warned against youngsters using “hippy crack” – saying it can cause paralysis for life.
Nitrous oxide – also known as laughing gas or nos – is second only to cannabis as the drug most used by young people.
But Wales’ chief medical officer Dr Frank Atherton says it “is not just a bit of harmless fun” and can be extremely dangerous.
Dr Atherton said: “We see people who are no longer able to walk or use their arms or legs.
“Sadly that can be irreversible.
“I think the challenge is to get information to people to help them to understand that it is not just a harmless bit of fun.
“There are potentially significant consequences, particularly for people who are heavy users.
“Even if you have just one case of paralysis the lifetime costs of that to society, let alone the personal cost to that individual, are absolutely astronomical.”
Dr Atherton’s warning comes after hundreds of nitrous oxide cannisters were found outside the Welsh Government headquarters in Cardiff Bay.
Dad David King, 57, told how he retrieved more than 700 canisters in just one day while litter-picking in the area.
He said: “It was particularly bad, in particular the quantity of gas canisters and balloons left there.
“People are putting their lives at risk – people have died from using them. From a pollution perspective, it’s a problem as well.”
Nitrous oxide is illegal to sell for recreational use but is used legally in catering and is given to pregnant women as a painkiller while in labour.
Professor Gino Martini, chief scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said chronic use of the drug causes damage to the spinal cord.
He said: “We think that what happens is that chronic use of nitrous oxide stops you absorbing vitamin B12.
“If you get a depletion, it erodes this protective covering and it damages your spinal cord.
“That’s why we see people get issues like numbness, tingling, problems with walking, and in severe cases paraplegia, which is a type of paralysis.”
Former UK government drug adviser Professor David Nutt caused controversy earlier this year when he said the drug – which gives a sense of euphoria – was less dangerous than alcohol.