No Laughing Matter: Experts Say Laughing Gas Trend Is Dangerous

The family of a young Florida woman who died in 2024 after overdosing on nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is now fighting to halt its sale at smoke shops. While it is illegal to buy it to inhale, nitrous oxide can be sold legally as a food and beverage additive for culinary use only, such as making whipped cream. But addiction experts say there’s a dangerous and growing social media trend of young people using tanks of laughing gas to get high.