Laughing gas recalled from Oxford clubs
Oxford clubs will no longer sell laughing gas after a medical watchdog warned on 5th March that doing so could lead to a two-year prison sentence and an unlimited fine. The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has claimed that sale of the laughing gas, which has previously been sold in Oxford clubs such as Filth, is an offence under Section 52 of the Medicines Act 1968 of selling and or supplying a pharmacy without the permission of a pharmacist.
Laughing gas, or nitrous oxide, made the headlines in January after a 23-year-old man was found dead shortly after inhaling large quantities of the gas. Previously, anyone over the age of 18 could buy nitrous oxide, which can be used in cooking - for example, in canisters of whipped cream. Patrick Newton, a first year at St Peter’s, said, “I took it in Filth and I thought it must be illegal. But I thought it was fantastic.
Ben Goldacre, author of The Guardian’s ‘Bad Science’ column, expressed doubts to The Oxford Student about the MHRA’s claims. “I can say with absolute certainty that the MHRA’s claims that the effects of nitrous oxide are due to oxygen starvation are absolutely incorrect.
19th Apr 2007