Nitrous oxide – known as “laughter gas” in colloquial language – there are many uses, from a pain reliever to a whipping agent for canned whipped cream during dental processes.

While its enthusiastic side effects have long been known, the rise of vepping has helped to create an ideal distribution vehicle for gas – and an ideal recipe for a addiction, has been warned by experts.

The death of Meg Caldwell was not unavoidable.

Florida’s horse riding started using nitrous oxide at the university eight years ago. But like many youth, he began to use more heavily during epidemic.

The youngest of the four sisters, she was the “light of our life”, her sister Kathleen Dial told the BBC.

But the use of Ms. Caldwell continued at the point that her addiction “began to run her life”.

He temporarily lost the use of his legs after an overdose, which also presented his incontinence. Nevertheless, she continues to use, buys it in local smoking shops, breathes it in the car park and then goes back to the shop directly to buy more. She sometimes spends hundreds of dollars a day.

She died last November, outside a VAPE shop in one of those car parks.

“She did not think it would hurt her as she was buying it in a smoking shop, so she felt that she was legally using the substance,” said Ms. Dial.

The progress of Ms. Caldwell’s addiction-Youth has become common from misuse to compulsion of life-threatening-Teji. The annual report by the US poison centers found that the deliberate risk report of nitrous oxide in the US increased by 58 % between 2023-2024.

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In the worst condition, breathing of nitrous oxide can lead to hypoxia, where the brain does not get enough oxygen. This can lead to death. Regular breathing can also cause vitamin B12 deficiency causing nerve damage, spinal column decline, and even paralysis. According to the Disease Control and Prevention Center, the number of deaths responsible for nitrous oxide toxicity increased by more than 110% between 2019 and 2023.

In 2023, the occupation of nitrous oxide was criminalized in the UK, when misuse among young people increased during epidemic. But while many states have also canceled the recreational use of the product in the US, it is still legal to sell as a Pak product. Only Louisiana has completely banned the retail sale of gas.

Galaxy gas, a major manufacturer, offers recipes to the recipes, including chicken sets with peanut chili foam and watermelon gazpacho. With tastes such as blue raspberries or strawberries and creams, experts have warned this flaws – as well as major changes in packaging and retail have contributed to an increase in misuse.

Recently, until the users weigh single-use plain metal canters around 8G and breathe gas using a balloon. But when used during epidemics, nitrous oxide manufacturers began selling very large cannte online – as big as 2KG – and, ultimately, in shops selling electronic vapes and other smokers.

Companies began to package gas in bright colored canstals with design designs characterized by computer games and television series characters.

Pat Oyesem, partnership to eliminate addiction, believes that these developments are behind increasing misuse:

“Even called Galaxy Gas or Miami Magic,” he said. “If you have large canister, it means that more people can try and use it and it can cause a lot of colleague pressure.”

The BBC arrived for comment for both Galaxy Gas and Miami Magic, but received no response. Amazon, where gas is sold online, has said that they know how to misuse nitrous oxide to customers and they are working to implement further security measures. In response to CBS News reporting, BBC news partners in the US, Galaxy Gas stated that the gas intended for culinary use and includes a message on their sites warning against misuse.

Last year, anxiety about misuse of nitrous oxide increased, many videos of people using the product went viral online.

On social media, videos of youths on gas became a trend. A video uploaded by a fast-food restaurant in Atlanta in July 2024 was shown to a young man in a strawberry and cream-flavored nitrous oxide, stating that “My name’s lil t, man”, his voice was made deep with gas. The clip has been seen about 40 million times to date and thousands of copies have been given birth.

Abuse also depicted heavily in rap music videos and twitch streaming. The guests spoke about the publicly abusing it on wrappers including the Rogan Show and U (East Kanye West). Since then “careless” has sued his dentist for “negligence” with “” hazardous amounts of nitrous oxide “.

In response to the trend, Tikokocococated the discoveries for “Galaxy Gas”, and the users rejected the message offering resources about the use and addiction of matter. Rapper SZA also alerted its social media followers about its disadvantages and slammed it to “marketing largely for black children”.

In March, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an official warning against the gas breathing, as it was seen “an increase in the report of adverse incidents” after breathing nitrous oxide products “.

The FDA told the BBC that it “continues to track adverse events related to misuse of nitrous oxide and will take appropriate action to protect public health”.

But for some, this warning came very late.

In 2023, a 25 -year -old woman’s family, Marisa Polyte, successfully sued the nitrous distributor United Brands for $ 745M after a high driver killed by a high driver at nitrous oxide by Nitriology Technician. The jury found the company responsible for selling products in this knowledge that it would be misused.

Polit family lawyer Johnny Simon said, “Marisa Polite should not have died in the first place, but my God, it should be the last.” There have been several deadly traffic accidents since the US and the UK since those years.

Meanwhile, Ms. Caldwell’s family has launched a class action case against manufacturers and distributors of nitrous oxide, who is expecting the removal of the product from retail sales across the US for good.

“Those who administration of nitrous oxide in a dentist office now have to undergo hours and hours of training, he said.” It is just crazy for me that the drug can be purchased in a smoke shop that goes inside anyone. ,

“Unfortunately, it is very clear that the manufacturer and owner of smoking shops are not going to do moral work and are taking it away from the shelves themselves,” Ms. Dial said.