Source: Radio New Zealand
Nitrous oxide is used recreationally for a high that can cause serious side effects. File photo. AFP / BENJAMIN POLGE
The mother of a man who still has nerve damage more than a year after huffing nitrous oxide – and is no longer unable to work in construction – wants tougher regulation around nangs.
Health and community leaders are concerned about a surge in huffing – including in Hawke’s Bay, where hundreds of kilos of large discarded canisters have been collected. Two cases of nerve damage in the region have also been linked to huffing nitrous oxide recently.
The gas has legitimate medical and catering uses, but is also used recreationally for a high that can cause serious side effects.
While it is illegal to sell nitrous oxide for huffing, a Checkpoint investigation found stores are selling large canisters of the gas that are the equivalent of hundreds of hits – with virtually no questions asked.
The New Zealand Drug Foundation has said recreational drug users often inhale it for a short-lived high.
However, the availability of thermos-sized canisters of the gas have community leaders and doctors seriously concerned about the safety and health risks linked to consuming large quantities of the gas.
One mother – who does not want to be named – says her son was buying large quantities of the gas and thought he could manage his doses.
But she told Checkpoint that things got serious when he started losing his balance.
“It was almost like he was drunk and couldn’t hold his balance, and his legs were like jelly.”
She said it was not constant, but there were times when he could not use a knife and fork.
“He just couldn’t grip it correctly, and was really struggling.
“He said he couldn’t feel his feet or his fingers, so they were completely numb and he had no sensation in his feet.”
She eventually took him to hospital after hearing him “crash” in their home at Christmas 2024.
“I was devastated. We just didn’t know what was wrong…and we just took him to hospital,” she said.
The woman says her son continues to suffer nerve damage, and that he had been purchasing the large canister products “regularly” from dairies when he became ill.
“I don’t know how much he was using, but I think to get into the state that he was, it was extreme,” she said.
“I was shocked that he just bought it from the local dairy.”
When she took him to hospital in late 2024, he ended up being admitted for an eight-day stay.
“He said he couldn’t feel his feet and his fingers, so they were completely numb and he had no sensation in his feet.
“It was almost like he was drunk and couldn’t hold his balance and…his legs kind of were jelly. But that wasn’t constant.
“And the real challenging time was when he couldn’t use a knife and fork, like he just couldn’t hold it, grip it correctly and… was just really struggling.”
The woman shared her story with Checkpoint because she wanted people to understand how dangerous nitrous oxide was, and that it was easily accessible – despite requirements under the Psychoactive Substances Act.
She said the ongoing impacts on her son, who previously worked in the construction industry, had been particularly heartbreaking.
“The thing is…my son was trying to be a responsible user and had looked into the adverse effects of using this drug and saw that it depleted vitamin B12, so he was taking B12.
“But it obviously was not enough.”
She said it took about 10 hours for doctors at the hospital to establish her son’s symptoms were a result of nerve damage from low levels of vitamin B12 and nitrous oxide use.
More than a year later, he continued to have problems and had not been able to return to his work in the construction industry.
“He obviously can use a knife and fork and things more easily now…but I feel like he hasn’t got 100 percent sensation back in his feet,” she said.
“I know nerves do take a long time to heal and grow back, but we’re talking about 15 months since he was hospitalised.”
She said she was so angry by what happened to her son, and that there was no information out there about how to deal with it.
“It’s just horrifying, I just can’t believe it’s happening still. The minister needs to stop it being sold through dairies for a start. It’s just crazy and there needs to be some regulation around it.”
Health Minister Simeon Brown previously said the government took nitrous oxide misuse “very seriously”.
He highlighted tougher enforcement measures around sale of the gas, which were introduced last year.
“These changes were designed to provide greater clarity for retailers and enforcement agencies, and to ensure there are appropriate consequences when the law is not followed,” he said in a statement.
“I have requested advice on how effective these changes have been, including whether the penalties are adequate, to ensure we can keep New Zealanders safe.”
For anyone affected by issues discussed in this story, free call or text 1737 any time to speak to a trained counsellor. Or call 0800 Lifeline or text HELP to 4357.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand