Misuse of Drugs
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-05
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Teresa Costello (FF), Agricultural Panel

I thank the Minister of State for being here. I wanted to have this discussion today because, like many others, I am genuinely concerned about the growing use of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas. Tallaght Tidy Towns volunteers, in particular Nico Crowley, collected 305 nitrous oxide canisters in January alone from just five locations. Just think about that for a moment - in one part of a community, in one month. The reality is that that figure is almost certainly only a fraction of what is actually being used. Everywhere you look - parks, footpaths, green areas, estates - you can see these canisters discarded. They have become a part of our street litter.
Behind that litter, however, is something far more worrying, namely, the health impact on our young people. What I find particularly frightening is what has now been revealed in a new Irish study. A study published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology shows that young people in Ireland are increasingly being diagnosed with spinal cord damage caused by the recreational use of nitrous oxide. The research was led by Professor Seamus Looby, consultant neuroradiologist at Beaumont Hospital and honorary associate professor at the RCSI. The findings show a very clear and disturbing trend. Between 2012 and 2020, not a single case of spinal cord damage related to nitrous oxide was recorded at Beaumont Hospital. Between 2021 and 2024, however, 14 cases were diagnosed, with the median age of those patients being 20 years. It is a dramatic change in a short period.
This clinical evidence confirms what youth workers and community organisations have been warning for years, that is, that this misuse is rising rapidly among children and young adults. Nitrous oxide is cheap, easy to buy online for a legitimate commercial use and widely perceived as harmless fun, but the medical evidence tells a different story. It interferes with the body's ability to process vitamin B12. This can lead to a serious condition called subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord. The symptoms include numbness in the hands and feet, difficulty walking, poor balance and problems with co-ordination. Professor Looby has warned that many teenagers who would not consider using other drugs are inhaling from these canisters because they believe them to be safe, but what doctors are seeing is spinal cord damage and in many cases permanent damage. Although most of the patients in the study improved with treatment, none of them made a full recovery and every single person was left with some level of lasting neurological injury. It is an extraordinarily frightening outcome for a drug that young people kind of perceive as being harmless. We need to be honest about the wider risks and side effects. Inhaling directly from the canister without a balloon is particularly dangerous. The gas is cold and can cause frostbite to the mouth and nose and damage to the throat and lungs. Other people are at greater risk if they have heart conditions. There are also risks about the settings in which people are taking this. People can fall, collapse or have accidents. There are a whole lot of issues around this practice.
It is not only a health issue, however; it is an environmental and community issue too. The sheer scale of these discarded canisters in our communities and neighbourhoods sends a very clear signal that this problem is growing and we cannot ignore it. Education around it is vital. We need to be clear, honest and consistent with our information for our young people in particular, as well as parents, schools and youth services about the real risks.
We need far better reporting and monitoring of the health incidences relating to nitrous oxide in order that communities can understand the true scale of harm.
I am not here to blame young people or judge them. I just really want them to be protected in this. The evidence now is showing clearly that it is not harmless and the cost to young lives on long-term health is already being felt in hospitals and communities.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:35+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-05