Nitrous Oxide: Misuse

(asked on 18th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the use of nitrous oxide by young people.


Answered by
Kit Malthouse Portrait
Kit Malthouse
This question was answered on 26th November 2020

The Government takes the supply of substances for their psychoactive effect very seriously. There are legitimate uses for nitrous oxide, such as in medicine, dentistry and as a propellant for whipped cream canisters, but those who supply nitrous oxide for its recreational use, or who are reckless as to whether it is used for its psychoactive effect, will be subject to an offence under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. This includes a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment.

The Government has published guidance for retailers to satisfy themselves that they comply with the law, available on the gov.uk website. The guidance recommends that retailers, including those operating online, should pay particular attention to the potential for abuse of nitrous oxide, especially where customers seek to buy in bulk or large volumes, and suggests that retailers may wish to carry out age checks to prevent those at highest risk from gaining access to psychoactive substances.

With regard to the online sale of nitrous oxide, in the Queen’s Speech on 19 December 2019, the Government committed to develop legislation to improve internet safety for all. This will build on the proposals in last year’s Online Harms White Paper, which set out the Government’s plans for world-leading legislation to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online. The Government intends to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users, overseen by an independent regulator. The duty of care will ensure companies have appropriate systems in place to deal with harmful content on their internet services and keep users safe. We are working on a full Government response, which will include more detailed proposals on online harms regulation. The Government will follow the full response by introducing Online Harms legislation when parliamentary time allows.

Schools play a key role in enabling young people to make positive choices about their wellbeing, including resisting drug use. Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) became a compulsory subject in schools from September 2020. However, in light of school closures the Department for Education recognises that some schools may not be able to begin teaching the new content until the start of the summer term 2021. Schools have the freedom to ensure the curriculum meets the need of their pupils. This flexibility allows schools to respond to local public health and community issues such as nitrous oxide misuse and adapt material and programmes to suit the needs of pupils.

Reticulating Splines