Nitrous Oxide Abuse Crisis Fueled by Youth Marketing and Addictive Designs, Lawsuits Allege

A growing number of nitrous oxide lawsuits continue to be filed, as health officials continue to report spikes in injuries, hospitalizations and deaths linked to the abuse of laughing gas canisters.

Once confined to dental offices and kitchens, nitrous oxide abuse is now being glorified through social media and predatory marketing, which often promotes the products as a way for teenagers and young adults to get high. However, this has now resulted in a growing epidemic of addiction and long-term neurological damage from nitrous oxide among individuals nationwide.

Recreational nitrous oxide use has surged in recent years, with canisters of the gas, often referred to as “Whip-Its” or “FastGas,” becoming widely available online and in smoke shops. Despite being labeled for culinary or novelty purposes, these products are increasingly being used for their short-lived euphoric effects after inhaling the gas.

That high, however, lasts only seconds, often leading users to inhale the gas repeatedly over a short period of time. This nitrous oxide abuse carries a serious risk of oxygen deprivation, nerve damage, and permanent injuries or death. However, teens and young adults often assume the products are safe, since they are sold over-the-counter in vape shops, without any warnings.

Amid rising reports of injuries and deaths linked to inhalation abuse, nitrous oxide lawsuits are now being filed by many individuals against manufacturers and distributors, alleging they knowingly designed and marketed the products to encourage repeated inhalation, particularly among teens and young adults.

In this featured post, AboutLawsuits.com outlines many of the allegations now being pursued in lawsuits throughout the U.S., as well as the devastating effects of the nitrous oxide abuse crisis impacting teens and young adults nationwide.

High-Capacity Tanks and Widespread Availability Promote Abuse

Lawsuits claim that manufacturers are not only aware of how their products are used, but that they have intentionally designed them to promote repeated abuse.

Unlike traditional culinary cartridges, many of today’s recreational nitrous oxide products are sold in high-capacity tanks on Amazon.com and other reputable websites, containing enough gas for dozens, or even hundreds, of inhalations. The sheer volume available in a single canister enables prolonged sessions, where users inhale repeatedly to sustain the short burst of euphoria, without any warnings about the risks of overexposure.

How the gas is used reinforces these concerns. Users typically transfer nitrous oxide into a balloon using a metal cracker or a pressurized dispenser, which is often sold alongside the cartridges in kits in vape shops nationwide. The balloon allows the gas to warm slightly and be inhaled in a controlled way, avoiding the risk of cold burns from direct exposure.

Many retailers even bundle balloons and inhalation nozzles with gas canisters, making it easier for users to inhale the gas repeatedly in short sessions.

A recent YouTube investigation by CBC Marketplace revealed just how easy it is for underage users to purchase nitrous oxide online from their phones, often bundled with balloons and inhalation tools, despite disclaimers claiming it’s for culinary use only.

Repeated NO Abuse Linked to Neurological Damage

Nitrous oxide’s short-lived but intense effects can lead to binge-style use, where users inhale balloon after balloon to maintain the high, sometimes until they pass out. This pattern of compulsive use dramatically increases the risk of long term nitrous oxide abuse side effects and dependency-like behavior.

Repeated exposure disrupts the body’s ability to process vitamin B12, resulting in nerve damage, numbness and gait disturbances. A 2025 study published in Cancer Treatment and Research Communications found that nitrous oxide abuse can lead to subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord and peripheral neuropathy, with some cases resulting in irreversible harm.

These risks are broken down in a widely viewed YouTube video titled “Doctor Explains Whippets and Nitrous Oxide Abuse”, where a physician explains how repeated inhalation causes oxygen deprivation and long-term neurological symptoms.

These concerns have been further highlighted by public health surveillance data confirming the rising trend. According to a 2025 report from the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the state of Michigan saw a four- to five-fold increase in nitrous oxide-related poison center calls, emergency department visits, and EMS responses between 2019 and 2023.

Most incidents occurred among people aged 20 to 39, with symptoms ranging from tachycardia and numbness to severe neurological impairment. Fourteen deaths were recorded during EMS responses, some of which involved suspected suicides.

Why Nitrous Oxide Abuse Is Addictive

Although often perceived as low-risk, nitrous oxide exhibits multiple characteristics consistent with addictive substances, including escalating use and compulsive behavior.

Research published in The Lancet Public Health highlights how recreational users often escalate from occasional use to heavy, repeated exposure, spending significant time obtaining, using and recovering from the gas.

Clinical evidence shows that nitrous oxide binds directly to opioid receptors and modulates the GABAergic system, both key components of the brain’s addiction pathways. These interactions can mimic the effects of other addictive drugs, reinforcing compulsive use, particularly in young or vulnerable individuals.

“It is now known that the opioid system is involved in addiction, and that nitrous oxide binds directly at opioid receptors and produces typical opioid behavioral effects in humans.”

-The Lancet Public Health, 2024

Users frequently report cravings, tolerance and relapse, even after periods of abstinence. A small clinical study cited in the review found that all participants met formal criteria for substance use disorder, despite nitrous oxide being their only recreational drug.

Unlike longer-acting substances, nitrous oxide produces a euphoric high that peaks within seconds. To maintain the effect, users often inhale balloon after balloon in quick succession, creating a rapid behavioral loop that mimics addiction, even in the absence of classic withdrawal symptoms. Some report paranoia, delusions or psychotic episodes, and relapse rates are high, affecting nearly half of users within six months of quitting.

Lawsuits have outlined how this combination of short-acting intensity, easy access and false perceptions of safety has made nitrous oxide an increasingly abused substance among teens and young adults.

Nitrous Oxide Marketing Concerns

The compulsive nature of nitrous oxide use is being directly fueled by the way these products are designed, packaged and promoted, and lawsuits now claim that this is no accident.

Many of the lawsuits highlight how manufacturers have intentionally developed flavored nitrous oxide canisters with labels like cotton candy, cola, and grape, using bright colors, cartoonish logos, and slang terms like “nangs,” “whips” or “buzz kits” to appeal to teens and young adults. While the products are nominally marketed for food preparation, the design and branding strongly suggest recreational intent.

Retailers and distributors are also accused of bundling high-capacity gas canisters with balloons and inhalation tools in so-called “party packs,” which lawsuits allege make it easier for users to engage in prolonged sessions of repeated inhalation. These bundles are often sold online with no meaningful age verification, no safety instructions, and disclaimers that lawsuits describe as deliberately vague.

Social media platforms have further amplified the problem. TikTok and Instagram have shown videos with teens inhaling nitrous oxide from balloons, sometimes in rapid succession. Hashtags like #WhipItWednesday and #NangChallenge often lead to promotional content or online stores selling the gas.

However, according to lawsuits, the popularity of these hashtags and trends is not merely organic, it reflects a broader marketing environment that tolerates, if not encourages nitrous oxide abuse.

Nitrous Oxide Abuse Lawsuits

Lawsuits are now being pursued by individuals who suffered serious health complications or the loss of a loved one after using flavored nitrous oxide canisters. Claims involve injuries such as:

• Nitrous oxide addiction
• Nerve damage or numbness
• Spinal cord injury or paralysis
• Cognitive impairment or memory loss
• Cardiac complications
• Wrongful death from inhalation
• Vitamin B12 depletion and related neurological problems
• Other serious or permanent harm from repeated use

If you or someone you love experienced these effects, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Nitrous oxide injury lawyers handle all claims on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no out-of-pocket costs unless compensation is recovered.