A new report by experts from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) has revealed that there has been “a visible mark of the increasing incidence of nitrous oxide (N2O) misuse” since lockdown began.
Nitrous oxide – also known as laughing gas, “hippie crack”, balloons and nos – is the second most popular drug amongst young people in the UK.
Its popularity is believed to be due to the fact that it is cheap and easy to get hold of.
As defined by FRANK, nitrous oxide is “a colourless gas most commonly found in pressurised metal canisters [which] you may have seen lying around in streets outside bars and nightclubs”.
It is often consumed by “transferring the gas into a container (usually a balloon), then inhaling from the balloon” and this is because “inhaling nitrous oxide directly from the canister is very dangerous [as] the gas is under such high pressure, which can cause a spasm of the throat muscle and stop a person breathing.”
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Nitrous oxide slows down brain and body responses and the effects of the drug is known to vary depending on how much has been inhaled.
Negative side effects of the inhalation of nitrous oxide include severe headaches, dizziness, inability to think straight and short-lived, but intense feelings of paranoia. Regular use can stop you forming white blood cells properly and heavy regular use can result in deficiency of vitamin B12. Severe B12 deficiency can lead to serious nerve damage, causing tingling and numbness in the fingers and toes – this can be very painful and make walking difficult.
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More serious side effects range from the risk of falling unconscious and/or suffocating from the lack of oxygen, which can/has lead to death.
The supply of nitrous oxide as a recreational drug is illegal under the UK’s Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, however, this does not appear to have acted as a deterrent in illicit drug use.
A tweet by Twitter user @sixkenza, calling for ‘cancelling’ balloons, has recently brought nitrous oxide inhalation into mainstream conversation once again. The tweet contained a screenshot of a personal account by a sufferer of severe side effects from nitrous oxide inhalation, which left her hospitalised.
The chilling statement featured in the tweet read: “Balloons.”
“We all do them, use them and abuse them, but never think about the long term effects. I have lost all feeling in both [legs], I have collapsed in public multiple times and that’s why I came to hospital.”
“My legs had been feeling numb for a couple weeks now, but I expected it to go away. I have no balance, no brain and leg coordination and no reflexes in my legs whatsoever. I have a long road to recovery and the recovery isn’t even 100%. I have to have injections daily and for the rest of my life. MRI scans and physio to learn how to walk again.”
“This isn’t a joke”.
“I will never touch a balloon again and I hope this is a wake up all to all of you. Your effects won’t be immediate, they will creep up on you slowly, so please stop doing them because they can leave you paralysed for life.”
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The tweet subsequently went viral since posting, going on to amass well over 8,000 retweets, 17,000 likes and hundreds of responses from people expressing shock and their own messages of warning, as well as sharing accounts of similar experiences and stories.
Honestly this should be a wake up call for a lot of you! No one thinks about the seriousness of it until something bad happens to them. I have and always will be against them however pathetic it may sound 🤷🏽♀️ https://t.co/7c2zmNVKeK
Rather worryingly, a few of the tweet responses also seemed to indicate a confusion on the correlation between balloons and nitrous oxide.
Some tweets revealed that people were unaware it was nitrous oxide contained within balloons and others even appeared to be under the assumption the substance filling the balloons that are referred to in the statement in question was actually helium.
This just highlights how much uncertainty there is and potentially offers explanation as to why such tragic situations may occur.
Whilst it’s wrong to claim that the negative side effects of nitrous oxide inhalation are not widely known, regularly discussed or previously warned against, we can only hope that the attention this tweet has and continues to receive, will go some way to serving as a wake up call for a newer generation of individuals who are seemingly appearing to abuse this drug more than ever before.
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More information on the effects of nitrous oxide can be found via FRANK here.
To read the full report by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) into the rise of N2O consumption during lockdown, you can do so here.
News
Manchester United fans planning another major protest amid more upheaval around the club
Danny Jones
Manchester United supporters look set to stage another high-profile demonstration in protest against the INEOS Sports ownership group.
This is the latest response to the club’s continuing struggles, and not just the first proper organised mobilisation of the year, but the first since the most recent major march last spring.
Following the sacking of ‘manager’ Ruben Amorim, despite co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and his board of executives insisting that the Portuguese head coach (that distinction proving to be a crucial detail), the local sporting giants are once again starting from scratch and looking for another replacement boss.
With that in mind, militant fan group The 1958 announced their most recent protest ahead of a home fixture next month in a rather bold fashion…
As announced we protest against this dysfunctional co-ownership before Fulham.
Yep, neither Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, nor any face even remotely associated with Old Trafford/Carrington is safe from an AI parody.
As for The 1958 group’s actual protest plans, speaking via the BBC this week, the supporters’ trust has confirmed that they will be making a vocal statement outside the stadium on Sunday, 1 February.
Travelling Reds already made their thoughts known with a very blunt, provocative and somewhat controversial banner in the away end at Turf Moor for the 2-2 draw against Burnley.
With Man United approaching a third-round FA Cup tie against Brighton and two big games in the form of a Manchester Derby at home and a trip to Arsenal, they have decided to choose the Fulham game at Old Trafford to stage the march.
Despite admitting that the results under Amorim were no way near good enough, they insist that the – most notably the overarching and Glazer family shadow ever looming over the organisation.
Further details around the actual timings and locations are still yet to be shared by the organisers, but you can expect this to be a well-attended, large-scale event.
Often convening at The Tollgate pub near regular matchday tram stop, Trafford Bar, before walking down Talbot Road towards the ground itself, we imagine Reds will then descend upon the Theatre of Dreams in their thousands.
In case you didn’t already surmise from the video itself, Ratcliffe and co. will be no doubt the subject of the usual chants, as well as more banners and flags.
What do you make of the latest plans, Man United fans?
Nothing will ever be quite as bold as the infamous Old Trafford break-in from 2022 (Credit: The Manc)
More Greater Manchester football matches called off as Storm Goretti sets in
Danny Jones
Yet more scheduled football matches in Greater Manchester and the surrounding regions have been postponed and/or cancelled due to Storm Goretti.
The increasingly cold, blustery and icy conditions moving over from France and across more parts of the UK have already caused schools to close, flights to be grounded, and plenty more disruption.
Another such inconvenience has come in the form of live sports, large swathes of which now look like they simply won’t be taking place.
One of the latest to be called off is Salford City‘s upcoming game against Swindon Town in the FA Cup this weekend, with various other games involving teams up and down the footballing pyramid now facing uncertainty over whether their third-round fixtures will go ahead as planned.
Ironically, this is just the tip of the iceberg, if you’ll pardon the very obvious pun.
Another game that was called off late last week, between Chadderton and FC Isle of Man, is yet to be rescheduled; the same is true of Rochdale AFC’s meeting with Brackley Town, Radcliffe v Oxford City, as well as games involving Bury, Stockport Town, Irlam, Cheadle Town, Prestwich Heys and more.
Other nearby outfits, such as Chorley, Warrington Rylands and Ramsbottom United, just to name a few, are also still unsure of when their next game will be.
In many cases, it is simply a matter of the grounds being largely or completely frozen and deemed unfit for use following pitch inspections.
Oldham Athletic – which has already been hit with plenty of snow and frost – yesterday confirmed that their Notts County clash wouldn’t be going ahead due to that very reason.
With winds of up to 90 miles per hour also being reported, yellow and even red weather warnings have been issued across various parts of the country, with people being urged to check their routes home from work by local authorities.
Storm Goretti should start calming down this evening (Fri, 9 January) and into Saturday morning, but the after-effects could still play havoc over the next few days.
For instance, over in Cheshire, Macclesfield FC are going so far as to call on nearby residents to help clear their playing surface from heavy snowfall.
So, if you’re in the area and fancy helping out, they could sure do with your help.
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
Macclesfield FC are once again requesting the help of the fanbase and the local community to help clear the remainder of the compacted snow from the surrounding areas of the https://t.co/fL99QEEJ4D Stadium.
Emily Sergeant -
22nd June 2020 
