‘Young people with what looks like advanced dementia’: The pointy end of nitrous oxide abuse
Associate Professor Darren Roberts explains why patients use these drugs, who is at risk of serious harm and what doctors can do.
Nangs, whippets, NOS, whatever patients call cannisters of nitrous oxide — doctors have implicated them in neurological damage in young patients.Â
Available for less than $1 per cannister, or bulb, they are designed for whipping cream but used recreationally as a cheap high and are legal to purchase at corner shops across Australia.
While the extreme cases make it to medical journals, most patients using nangs do so at lower levels.
Clinical toxicologist and pharmacologist Associate Professor Darren Roberts, the medical director of the NSW Poisons Information Centre, explains why patients use these drugs, who is at risk of serious harm and what doctors can do.
