Whippets: TikTok’s most dangerous trend

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Once, while I was in college, I came home to our Manhattan apartment to find that my roommates had put in a large supply of canned whipped cream. Since I didn’t see any strawberries, I quickly realized they were more interested in the gas than the cream. Then and now, manufacturers use nitrous oxide as a blowing agent in these products. While I don’t want to downplay the stupidity of this youthful adventure, I am grateful that the four boys in that apartment survived the experience and went on to become doctors, lawyers, television news anchors and, yes, professors.

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A lot has changed in the past decades.

I’m sure one of my roommates, or maybe several, had to muster up some serious courage to buy all that whipped cream at the local bodega. Using an online grocery app, I was just able to order 11 400-gram cans of Dairyland whipped cream and have them delivered to my home in Calgary the next day with no shipping charges. Of course I didn’t go through with it.

But why bother with all the dairy when you can just get gas? Amazon.ca is offering a 640-gram canister of 99.95 percent pure food-grade nitrous oxide for $54.98, with no warning about potential health hazards. There are also many US-based websites that sell “Whippets,” an “8-gram load of 100% pure nitrous oxide,” and will happily ship them to Canadian addresses, dutifully charging GST or HST. They all claim that it is used to make whipped cream.

One particularly trendy brand, Galaxy Gas, even flavors the nitrous oxide, a process that most chefs say would render it useless for culinary purposes. To go to their website, which I won’t name here, you must agree: “By purchasing products containing nitrous oxide, you expressly agree and warrant that your possession and use will be lawful and strictly limited to the lawful preparation of culinary products Food is restricted.” intended and for no other purpose.” There is a lot of winks here.

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Another difference from my college days is that we didn’t have social media back then. There are now many videos on TikTok, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) that show cool-looking people inhaling laughing gas. They’re pretty boring, as the gas inhalers generally cause people to pass out, although in one case a man falls backwards down a flight of stairs. All of this has led one YouTube commentator, Andy King, who has 325,000 followers and a pretty level head, to call Galaxy Gas “TikTok’s most dangerous trend.”

Nitrous oxide has been around for centuries and certainly has a place as an anesthetic in dental and certain surgical procedures. It is the so-called “laughing gas”; Although most people don’t laugh, they simply stop feeling the pain and may become somewhat euphoric. This is exactly the effect that recreational users are looking for.

However, a recent article published in the Journal of Addictive Diseases reported “three cases of nitrous oxide abuse resulting in severe, symptomatic cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency.” Other effects may include burns to the throat, face, nose, lips and tongue due to the cold temperature of the gas. Serious neurological effects, as well as heart palpitations and memory loss, have also been reported. There have also been reports of bowel and bladder problems and sexual dysfunction caused by nitrous oxide consumption.

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Due to the dangers, the British government made possession of nitrous oxide for recreational purposes a criminal offense in England and Wales at the end of 2023. In Canada, it is classified as a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Possession, sale and distribution for recreational purposes are prohibited. However, the loophole for culinary use is quite large. A person could get into trouble if they purchase a large quantity, especially from outside Canada, but as long as they claim to be frothing whipped cream, the law seems pretty toothless.

Cyrille De Halleux and David N. Juurlink from the University of Toronto wrote an excellent review article on nitrous oxide, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2023. They note: “The true prevalence of recreational use of nitrous oxide in Canada is unknown.” However, 10% of all respondents and 15% of Canadian respondents to the 2021 Global Drug Survey reported using nitrous oxide in the previous year.” Multiple sources claim that the practice is more common among men than women. They speculate that men are more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior.

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While nitrous oxide abuse affects all ages, many studies show that adolescents and increasingly young teenagers are the primary users, often in club settings. Since young people often have a strong interest in the environment, it is worth noting that nitrous oxide is a powerful greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential nearly 300 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. Perhaps caring for the planet affects her even more than caring for her body.

Tom Keenan is an award-winning journalist, public speaker, professor at the University of Calgary’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, and author of the bestselling book Technocreep: The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy.

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