The number of calls to the Poison Information Centre about laughing gas has almost doubled since last year – and the government's investigators want to totally ban the sale of laughing gas for intoxication purposes.
After finds of thousands of laughing gas canisters on Malmö's streets, the city's politicians are now fighting for a ban, reports Sydsvenskan.
Laughing gas is used in healthcare and industry – but in recent years, it has also started to be used increasingly for intoxication purposes. However, this can lead to acute oxygen deficiency, nerve damage, hallucinations, and delusions.
The government has tasked several authorities with informing about the risks of the gas, and investigators have also proposed both age limits and a ban on selling laughing gas for intoxication purposes.
In several places, the gas has been stopped. For example, starting on July 1, the Skåne town of Staffanstorp is introducing ten forbidden zones for laughing gas, and Lund managed to get a laughing gas ban for Stadsparken before last year's Walpurgis Night celebrations.
In Malmö, the Sweden Democrats have proposed that certain zones should have laughing gas bans based on the local public order ordinance – something that has broad political support. According to the newspaper, a revision of Malmö's local public order ordinance has been underway since earlier, aiming to stop the gas from public places.
