More people are getting addicted to nitrous oxide, which can cause nerve damage, paralysis and even death.
The U.S Food and Drug Administration has put out a new warning about the danger of inhaling the gas, which is commonly known as “whippets” or “laughing gas.”
Nitrous oxide is used by dentists for pain relief during procedures, but for decades people have also used it to get a quick high.
Abuse of the legally sold gas has soared recently, with its promotion on social media and its wide availability.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Health officials said that is putting more young people at risk. Video of young people getting high on nitrous oxide has become a viral trend.
They are often seen inhaling from large canisters with names like Galaxy Gas.
It all looks like fun, but there is a dark side. Channel 2’s Tom Regan spoke to a family that lost a loved one to the deadly addiction.
“Her whole life had become derailed due to her addiction to this drug,” said Leigh Caldwell.
Caldwell said her sister Meg, from the Orlando, Florida area, began using nitrous oxide recreationally in college. Eventually, her years-long use grew into a costly, dangerous addiction.
“She would spend $300, $400 at a smoke shop in a day,” said Caldwell.
She said her sister’s nitrous addiction left her incontinent and caused temporary paralysis in her legs.
“A doctor in the hospital said, ‘This is going to kill you. You’re going to die,’” said Caldwell.
In November she was found dead outside a vape shop where she bought NO2. She was 29 years old.
“Her absence is felt every day,” said Caldwell.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of deaths attributed to nitrous oxide poisoning rose more than 100% over a five-year period between 2019 and 2023.
The Georgia Poison Center saw nitrous oxide calls rise from three in 2019 to 22 in 2024.
“A lot of these patients are adults who are being seen in the emergency room after experiencing blackouts, unconsciousness,” said Dr. Gaylord Lopez, the Executive Director of the Georgia Poison Center.
He said chronic use of nitrous oxide robs the brain and heart of oxygen.
“You’re talking about heart conditions, blood clots, some even experienced temporary paralysis,” said Dr. Lopez.
In June, the FDA advised consumers not to inhale nitrous oxide products from any size canisters, tanks or chargers.
“You really don’t know when you’ll stop breathing, when you’ll lose consciousness, when your body will stop functioning. It’s pretty scary,” said Kim Castro, a metro Atlanta drug addiction specialist.
She told Channel 2 she had clients who have crashed cars while inhaling nitrous, and four who died from nitrous oxide poisoning.
One overdosed in a hotel room.
“When they opened the door, he was totally unconscious. There were probably 30 whippet canisters there, and he had to be hospitalized,” said Castro.
She said he left a drug treatment program and died six months later from a nitrous oxide binge.
The family of Meg Caldwell has filed a class action lawsuit against the manufacturers of nitrous oxide and seven Florida smoke shops to stop retail sales of the drug.
“This is not a wrongful death case. The Caldwells made a decision their focus would be for the public good,” said John Allen Yanchunis, an attorney with Morgan & Morgan who represents the Caldwells.
“The whole aim in all of this is to keep someone from having a loss like ours,” said Leigh Caldwell.
One of the nitrous oxide manufacturers named in the lawsuit is Atlanta-based Galaxy Gas.
Channel 2 reached out to the attorneys, and they said Galaxy Gas was sold to a Chinese company in 2024.
We emailed the new owner and have not gotten a response.
Channel 2 checked online, and Galaxy Gas is listed as temporarily closed and its website is down.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
