Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of partnering with customs to monitor the importation of nitrous oxide.

Border Force works closely with law enforcement and our partners across the world to share intelligence in order to protect the public. We have seen a record level of drug seizures in FY2024, demonstrating police and Border Force are working relentlessly to stop illegal drugs from coming into the country and keep them off our streets.

Nitrous Oxide is a Class C controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. It is an offence for a person to import or export nitrous oxide if they intend to wrongfully inhale it or if they know, or are reckless as to whether, it is likely to be wrongfully inhaled by some other person. “Wrongful inhalation” means inhalation other than for medical or dental purposes, and which is not accidental inhalation of nitrous oxide which has been released into the atmosphere (such as in industrial processes).

Data on seizures of nitrous oxide and other controlled drugs at the UK border are published at:

• Seizures of Drugs in England and Wales, financial year ending 2024
• Border Force Transparency Data