Red alert for nitrous oxide in Agde: the city will extend the ban on sale and consumption all year round

Laughing gas canisters are seized by the hundreds every year. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

Laughing gas is wreaking havoc on young people in Agde. The municipality, in agreement with the authorities, has therefore decided to act in the long term, while the current ban on sale and use has been in effect for two years, but only from June 1 to September 1.

Thrown in parking lots, in green spaces, we see them everywhere, littering the ground. Nitrous oxide canisters, more commonly called laughing gas because of the sensations felt (distortion of perceptions, increased auditory perception, fits of laughter, etc.) when inhaling this gas, “are a scourge that causes damage” recalls the deputy for security of the city of Agde, Jérôme Bonnafoux. Who follows in the footsteps of the mayor of Agde, Sébastien Frey, to announce as soon as possible “the ban on the sale and consumption of nitrous oxide in the territory of the commune.”

A ban extended all year round

A decision that is only an extension of the policy applied during the summer season, when these behaviors multiply, despite the ban on sales to minors, a law adopted in 2021. For two years, the sale and consumption of nitrous oxide has been prohibited in Agde from June 1 to September 1. “It is a real public health problem, with strong addictions and sometimes dangerous behavior. This decision is obviously to protect young people."

Also, in the coming weeks, supermarkets, bazaars and grocery stores will receive a letter from the municipality asking them to comply with this decree, while this product, used as a painkiller by doctors, is also used in cooking for whipped cream siphons or in car tuning, as a "booster" to increase engine power.

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