Eastern Bay Police Concerned by Ongoing Nitrous Oxide use

Eastern Bay Police are urging retailers to act responsibly as concerns continue over the recreational use of nitrous oxide or "nangs" and its impact on road safety.

Eastern Bay of Plenty Police are calling on retilers to be morally and legally responsible as concerns over nitrous oxide use continue.

Nitrous oxide is legally sold for catering purposes, such as making whipped cream, but it is increasingly being misused as a recreational drug to achieve a short-lived psychoactive high.

Area Commander for the Eastern Bay of Plenty Nicky Cooney said people of all ages are continuing to inhale the substance from balloons and canisters.

"What's become quite apparent here with young and some not so young people is the prevalence of nitrous oxide huffing in vehicles or people driving vehicles under the influence of nitrous oxide," she said.

Police are looking for signs of nitrous oxide use during routine traffic stops and are working to identify drivers impaired by the substance.

A nitrious oxide canister recently ceased in Kawerau for illegal use. IMAGE: Supplied

Kawerau Response Manager Al Fenwick said the high can cause people to pass out and may have long-term impacts on the brain.

A major concern for him is the appeal of the substance to young people.

"There's a concerted effort to target our vulnerable young people whose brain cortexes haven't fully developed yet, so they're susceptible to things like vaping or smoking or nitrous or any drugs, really."

Fenwick believes almost all nitrous oxide sold in the Eastern Bay is purchased for recreational use rather than legitimate purposes.

"It can be sold in a catering sense, but the people who are selling it here know that the people buying it aren't buying it for catering purposes."

"They're driving on the same roads as the rest of us and have the same social responsibilities as everyone else, but being a psychoactive substance, it also gives us the ability to take enforcement action against those people."

Police staff have visited Eastern Bay retailers over the past year, discussing penalties for illegal sales.

No penalties have been issued so far, but Fenwick said Police are monitoring the situation.

"They're all aware that they shouldn't be doing it so if we catch people doing it, they'll be subject to the full force of the law.

"Just look after your own communities, it could be their sons or daughters on the road that get crashed into."

In Kawerau, Police saw a noticeable increase in crashes linked to nitrous oxide use over the past year.

"That was evidenced by either admissions by those people or witnesses who had seen them," Fenwick said. 

At one point last year, four crashes in a single month were directly linked to the substance.

Crashes have included head-on collisions, vehicles leaving the road and drivers crossing the centre line.

Fenwick is urging drivers to be responsible and think about the consequences of driving while impaired.

"It's just really stupid and unsafe behaviour on our roads that puts themselves at great risk, but also all the innocent people on the road. Your husbands, your wives, your kids are all driving around. It's just really unacceptable, risky, ridiculous."

However, he said there have been no recent crashes linked to nitrous oxide.

"I haven't seen any recently, whether that's due to good luck or good management, but again, one crash is one too many for stuff like that."

Cooney is also calling for more responsible packaging to reduce the product's appeal to young people.

"It's almost like a comic strip, the decorations on the outside of the canisters and for me, nationally, we don't have the say, but we're allowing stuff to be imported into our country and there are very few constraints around the sale of it."

The social responsibility of importers is significant, she said.

"I would like people to just think twice about selling to young people who clearly aren't caterers and are not making lots of whipped cream."

Selling canisters to young people is setting them up to fail, she said.