Sale of nitrous oxide must be banned or regulated in South Australia, says Christopher Pyne

It was once used to create soda water or whipped cream, but now nitrous oxide canisters are being used for a far more sinister purpose. Christopher Pyne says it’s time to take action before it’s too late.

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I remember in the sixties and seventies, my father Remington, would use small green canisters containing nitrous oxide to create the bubble, or the soda, in the soda water that went into his friends and his spirit drinks.

It was a common method of creating soda water before you could just buy schwepperffesence off the shelf.

Later, nitrous oxide canisters (a form of laughing gas) became the means by which one whipped cream for consumption.

Sadly, now, nitrous oxide has become a recreational drug of choice among multitudes of young and I suspect, not so young Australians who seek a brief high from inhaling the gas.

Apparently, the chemical compounds leave the body’s system within hours making it hard to trace.

To many, it is a seemingly harmless way to a cheap high.

Nitrous oxide canisters are freely available for sale in South Australia.

Nitrous oxide canisters, or “nangs” as they are known on the street, are available in convenience stores and supermarkets everywhere.

There are so many being sold now that some shops have them in their more prominent display areas of the store because they are an ‘in demand’ product.

Before too long, I imagine they will become a “loss leader”, a product that loses money but gets consumers into the store in order to encourage them to purchase more high value products and services.

When I first heard about nangs from my teenage children, I thought, “surely this is some kind of joke?”

Nangs can kill you. They are known to be responsible for brain damage, at least memory loss, fainting, hypoxia, vomiting and in the worst case, sudden death from lack of oxygen to the brain.

Are we going to have to wait for a spate of teenage deaths or brain damaged youths living in nursing homes from using nangs before the legislators take action to regulate or ban the sale of nitrous oxide canisters?

There is ample evidence to prove that the use of nangs is on the rise. I’ve seen them myself in the street gutters in the city after a weekend of revellers getting up to mischief in Hindley St and its environs.

They weren’t obvious even a year ago. Now they are common place.

Researchers report that statistics indicate the use of nangs is on the rise.

The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre conducts an annual survey of a focus group of New South Wales drug users that showed the prevalence of use of nangs in that group had increased from 55 per cent of the group to 75 per cent from 2017 to 2018. I bet it is higher again this year.

Retailers must know that the use of nangs is on the rise.

To meet demand they will have had to increase their orders from wholesalers. That information should be easy to come by.

It must surprise the retailers of convenience stores that so many young people are consuming such large quantities of whipped cream or have their grandfather’s ancient soda making bottles in use.

It’s time for the legislature to lead the way. That’s what it’s for.

But I would urge the South Australian and other state’s members of parliament to act now, not after the worst affects of nangs are being felt and a distraught mother and father appear on our television screens in the news bulletin pleading for action because their much-loved teenage son or daughter has died from lack of oxygen to the brain induced by the use of a nang.

There is one such South Australian Member of the House of Assembly who grabbed my attention a few weeks ago.

Paula Luethen, the Member for King, had been out with the SA Police overnight in the city and was shocked to see so many smooth, missile shaped silver canisters strewn on the streets around our entertainment district in the early hours.

Ms Luethen ran for Parliament because she was shocked by the scourge of domestic violence, especially hidden domestic violence across her part of Adelaide in the northern suburbs.

She is a dynamo of action. Once she gets hold of a cause, she won’t let go until something is done about it. That’s exactly what you want in a politician.

I contacted Ms Luethen to encourage her to spearhead a response to nangs.

We should give her whatever support we can to start the often laborious and frustrating process of bringing about regulatory change in our system of government.

But you’ve got to start somewhere. We owe it to our children and their friends.

Let’s not regret our lack of action in the future when we have to admit that we suspected there was a problem but were too busy or complacent to act.

Rather than being reactive, yet again, let’s startle everyone by getting in front of the game.

You start the ball rolling Paula and we will keep its momentum going forward.