Bulgaria’s Ombudsman submits law changes to ban the sale and use of "laughing gas" by children

Bulgaria’s Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva on July 26 submitted to the Parliament an amendment to the Child Protection Act, proposing to ban the offer, sale, including online, and use by children of laughing gas .

A day earlier, the Public Defender sent recommendations to the outgoing Minister of Health, Prof. Asena Serbezova, to the Chairman of the Health Committee in Parliament Dr. Anton Tonev and to the Commission for Consumer Protection with a request for urgent measures against the free sale and use of laughng gas by minors, which according to specialists is equivalent to a mild drug.

"The bill aims to prevent the mass distribution and use by minors of dinitrogen oxide, known as 'laughng gas', which is sold freely and legally and is particularly popular among minors," wrote Prof. Kovacheva in the motives to the bill.

According to reports and complaints from parents to the ombudsman, laughing gas is systematically used in discos and clubs and, according to leading paediatricians, is very dangerous when combined with alcohol or drugs.

"The main danger is that the use of laughing gas causes detachment from the reality, and after its use there are risks to performing routine actions - walking, climbing stairs. Persons who have used it are dangerous not only to themselves but to others. There is a risk of hallucinations and psychosis, even suicidal thoughts. Evidence has been collected that it may cause severe vertigo, nausea and vomiting. Particularly in children, laughing gas affects the immune system and can lead to an acute shortage of oxygen to the organs," the ombudsman argued.

Diana Kovacheva adds that there have been cases of numbness and partial paralysis of the limbs, as well as reports of people diagnosed with axonal polyneuropathy, including spinal degeneration.

"This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed at legislative level. There are already a number of countries that have considered the risks of using laughing gas and have taken action to restrict its sale. Ireland has criminalised the sale of laughing gas to under-18s, and the Danish Government, back in 2020, following a number of disturbing incidents, took a package of measures to restrict the sale of nitrous oxide to minors. As of June 2021, the sale of dinitrogen oxide to minors, regardless of packaging, is banned in France in all shops, public places and on the internet,' the Ombudsman wrote.

In addition to urgent legislative changes, the Ombudsman is also calling for a broad awareness campaign involving educational institutions, parents' and patients' organisations, the media and doctors to explain the risks of dangers of using dinitrogen oxide.

"E-commerce websites should state the prohibition of offering and selling laughing gas to minors," Prof. Kovacheva said.