The general sale of nitrous oxide is prohibited under existing legislation, in particular to those under 18 years. It is the responsibility of An Garda Síochána to enforce this legislation and to confiscate supplies of this drug.
Last year, following media reports regarding the increased use of nitrous oxide, the Dept of Health requested the HSE to gather evidence on the use of nitrous oxide nationally. The HSE identified that use was occurring among those under the age of 18 in some communities and, as a result of this, a locally targeted approach was recommended to create awareness of the use of this substance. This approach is in line with best practice, as targeting young populations with a wider media campaign may have had limitations regarding effectiveness.
The HSE and local drug and alcohol task forces have taken a pro-active approach to communicating with parents and youth workers the dangers associated with nitrous oxide. A number of webinars were hosted with the aim of up-skilling local professionals regarding the use of nitrous oxide. Speakers at these events included a UK professional, the HSE, and professionals from the local areas. New content on nitrous oxide has been added to the Drugs.ie website, as well as a harm reduction material.
The HSE has run a number of social media adverts through their Drugs.ie page targeting parents with advice on how to talk to their children about drugs and new drug trends. This work is on-going and will continue throughout July and August. Social media adverts aimed at populations over the age of 18 are also run by the HSE regarding the effects and associated risks of nitrous oxide. The HSE will also develop a series of factsheets containing information on new drug trends such as nitrous oxide.
In order to provide further data on its use, nitrous oxide was included in the Irish module as part of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction EU Web Survey in March 2021. The findings from this survey will help identify the level and patterns of use among participants. The results from this survey will be released later this year.
An objective of the national drugs strategy to prevent the use of drugs and alcohol at a young age. School-based and out-of-school programmes are provided to increase awareness of the harms of drug and alcohol use among young people.
A national drug awareness programme ‘Know the Score’ was launched in 2019. The resource is aimed at engaging young people in exploring and considering a wide range of topics related to the risks associated with alcohol and drugs. This programme was developed in partnership between public health and education professionals.
Last year, the Department of Health provided €100,000 to the HSE to develop a national harm reduction campaign to raise awareness of the risks associated with drug use. With this funding the HSE are developing a number of new educational resources which are expected to be publicly available later this year. New drug trends will be included in this work where appropriate.
I am very supportive of the efforts of An Garda Síochána in confiscating supplies of nitrous oxide. I am committed to continuing to resource harm reduction and education campaigns aimed at increasing awareness of the risks of drug use, including nitrous oxide.
