VANCOUVER—An emergency room physician in British Columbia is warning of the misuse of a cooking tool that requires the use of nitrous oxide, more commonly known as laughing gas. Kwok says addiction to nitrous oxide is possible and non-medical use of the gas can be “extremely dangerous.”In the December issue of the B.C. Medical Journal, Kwok reports that no single agency in Canada is tracking non-medical overdoses, despite the dangers posed by the gas which is easily purchased. Kwok is calling for restricted access to nitrous oxide, safeguards to minimize harm and greater awareness by medical staff and the public about non-medical use of laughing gas. “When people present at the emergency department with unexplained neurological symptoms it’s important for clinicians to consider nitrous oxide as a possible cause,” Kwok says in the statement.

Source: thestar December 20, 2019 18:45 UTC