DRUG EPIDEMIC
Burst lungs and severed spinal cords: How laughing gas destroys lives with Ellen Mercer killed by abuse of drug
Ellen Mercer died after inhaling 200 bottles of nitrous oxide a day
DOZENS of people have been killed from inhaling nitrous oxide - or laughing gas - in a devastating drugs epidemic strangling the UK.
Ellen Mercer, 24, was on over 200 canisters of the banned substance, also known as "hippy crack" and "nos", a day before she died in February.
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The business student, from Berkshire, was in crippling pain and unable to even go to the toilet.
Her heartbroken mum Sharon Cook told The Sun yesterday her daughter did not know the dangers of the drug because the risks weren't publicised.
"Now everyone can see the risks involved - just don't do it," she said.
Her warning comes after Coroner Heidi Connor confirmed Ellen's death was related to "nitrous oxide use".
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Meanwhile, Kayleigh Burns, 16, collapsed at a house party in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, after she was filmed inhaling nitrous oxide in June 2022.
The asthmatic teenager, who was just weeks away from turning 17, was taken to hospital by ambulance but later died.
Kayleigh’s family were sent videos of her inhaling nitrous oxide at the party, according to the .
The teenager reportedly later complained of feeling “too hot” before she collapsed.
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Her sister Clare Baker called for tighter curbs on the drug, while the Coroner at her inquest urged a review into the law.
The European Union drugs monitoring agency EMCDDA has warned the use of nitrous oxide is on the rise among young people, resulting in growing numbers of poisonings.
And for those who survive, some of the long-term effects are horrendous.
Kerry Anne Donaldson, 26, from Newham, East London, has previously spoken about how her hippy crack binges damaged her spinal cord and forced her to rely on round-the-clock care from her dad.
The former receptionist now uses a wheelchair having lost all sensation in her legs.
She told : "In a week, maybe I would do about 600 canisters. For the next week I wouldn't be able to do anything, I would be sleeping 12 plus hours and I would be vomiting.
"I'd be having sweats, I couldn't eat, I couldn't drink water. I couldn't walk or use my hands."
She added: "I can't do anything for myself at the moment. It's not like I can get up and walk out of my house, which is why I have my dad.
"I have to use a commode. He does literally everything for me."
Elsewhere, 16-year-old pupil Alex Littler, from Cheshire, was rushed to hospital last summer after complaining of a swollen neck, breathlessness and a chest that felt like "popping bubble wrap" due to a ruptured lung.
He'd inhaled the drug at Parklife music festival in Manchester. Doctors told him he was lucky to be alive.
The EMCDDA says nitrous oxide is the second most prevalent drug among young adults aged between 16 and 24, after cannabis.
Its use soared during the Covid pandemic.
It is used in medical, industrial and commercial settings, including in whipped cream dispensers.
The cartridges are usually consumed in recreational settings by filling party balloons and inhaling the gas - but more recently users have been inhaling directly from dispensers or cartridges.
This can pose a higher risk of severe cold burns and lung injury, as well as affecting several brain and spinal cord networks.
It can starve the body of a crucial vitamin and oxygen, resulting in life-changing nerve damage and suffocation.
The Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has been asked to review the harm caused by the drug.
In the from March last year, the Office for National Statistics reported that over a two-decade period (between 2001 and 2020) there were 56 registered deaths involving nitrous oxide in England and Wales, 45 of these since 2010.
Nitrous oxide - the facts
NITROUS oxide - also known as laughing gas or hippy crack - was recently made a Class C due to the dangers associated with the drug.
It can cause a range of health issues and in some cases can even be fatal.
Some common side effects from inhaling the gas are dizziness, nausea, disorientation, loss of balance and weakness in legs, according to a study on its risks published to the .
Nitrous oxide can impair memory and thinking, the research mentioned. Some users might also feel anxious or paranoid.
According to the (ADF), the gas from nitrous oxide bulbs is intensely cold, sometimes as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius.
Inhaling directly from the canister or crackers - handheld devices used to 'crack' open canister - can cause frostbite on the nose, lips and throat, even the vocal cords.
The icy chill of the gas canisters can also cause cold burns to the hands.
Long term, heavy use of laughing gas can cause a lack of vitamin B12. Severe deficiency can lead to serious nerve damage, causing tingling and numbness in the fingers and toes.
Lack of B12 can also cause damage to the spinal cord.
In some cases, frequent and prolonged use of nitrous oxide has been linked to thromboembolic events - this means a blood clot has gotten stuck and caused an obstruction.
The so-called laughing gas has also resulted in deaths.
In November last year the British government made its possession a criminal offence in England and Wales, in an effort to tackled anti-social behaviour, with canisters often littering British streets.
Nitrous oxide is now a Class C drug.
The new legislation was praised by Emma Cain whose son Jon died aged 17 from a cardiac arrest in 2011 after inhaling another gas, butane.
The mum, from Southend, has been warning youngsters about substance abuse ever since.
Ellen's mum Sharon is urging the government to go a step further and reclassify the drug as a Class A and believes her daughter would still be alive if she was more aware of the dangers associated with it.
She told : "I don't think she realised how dangerous the drug was. As it was legal she was inclined to think it was safe.
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"[The government] needs to come down harder on it and they should definitely make it a Class A drug.
";It is dangerous so it should be up there with heroin and cocaine. Class C is not strong enough in my book."
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