Għajnsielem grapples with laughing gas problem

Updated 7.32pm with emergency doctor comments

The Gozitan town of Għajnsielem is grappling with a rising problem of laughing gas use, as canisters are increasingly found discarded in bins or scattered throughout the locality.

Speaking to Times of Malta, mayor Kevin Cauchi expressed concern about the growing issue, warning that it is damaging the locality’s environment and, more importantly, posing risks to teenagers’ health.

“Teenagers are using it throughout the day and at night, near schools and in open spaces such as the Ta’ Passi area, the playfield, and along the coast,” Cauchi said.

Nitrous oxide, commonly used as an anaesthetic during childbirth, is also inhaled recreationally for its short-lived euphoric effects, which often induce laughter – hence its more common name ‘laughing gas’.

It is typically sold in cartridges and consumed by releasing the gas into balloons before inhalation. Despite it being around for 250 years, there is currently no legislation regulating it.

Despite it being around for 250 years, there is currently no legislation regulating it.

The mayor said he first noticed the problem around three years ago, but over the past few months it has intensified, with canisters now being found almost daily across the locality.

The situation has escalated to the point where the mayor plans to launch an awareness campaign on the dangers of nitrous oxide use during Għajnsielem’s summer event, ‘Iljieli Sajfin’.

“It’s an extremely stressful situation for parents, and what really concerns me is that the police cannot do anything about it as it is not illegal,” he said, while calling for the regulation of this substance.

Unregulated and cheap

This is not the first time widespread nitrous oxide use in Gozo has been flagged.

Last year, the addiction foundation OASI called for regulation and restrictions on the sale of the drug, noting an increase in its use among young people. Secondary school students reportedly told OASI that two laughing gas balloons can be bought for as little as €5.

OASI has warned that nitrous oxide use can cause dizziness, vision impairment, loss of balance, and problems with sensory-motor coordination and judgement.

The foundation also said that long-term use may lead to vitamin B12 deficiency, neurotoxicity, bowel and bladder dysfunction, sexual health issues, and in severe cases, death.

It can also trigger psychiatric symptoms such as altered mental states, hallucinations, psychotic episodes and mood disturbances.

In a Facebook post Sunday, emergency doctor Jonathan Joslin warned that unless health officials tackled the issue he called an "obvious growing health problem", it would become normalised behaviour.

Reiterating the foundation's warnings about the health risks of using nitrous oxide, Joslin said that for teenagers, "whose brains are still developing, these risks are even more concerning, making what appears to be a short-lived high potentially harmful both immediately and over time". 

Long-standing issue

Although people may not face repercussions for selling the drug in Malta, in February, three Gozitans were banned from France for five years and handed suspended prison sentences after they were found guilty of possession and transporting thousands of nitrous oxide canisters.

Labour MEP Thomas Bajada had urged the controlled sale of laughing gas.

Last year, emergency doctor Michael Spiteri also raised concerns about the drug, issuing stark warnings about its potentially fatal risks.

In 2023, Malta Today reported that police had called for legislation banning the street sale of nitrous oxide, following an investigation into drug trafficking in Paceville.