'Happy Balloons' face tough crackdown

The Ministry of Environment is set to ban the inhalation of nitrous oxide -- better known as laughing gas. / Courtesy of Pixabay

By Lee Han-soo

The Ministry of Environment is set to ban the inhalation of nitrous oxide -- better known as laughing gas.

It said it will announce legislation this month that designates the gas as a hallucinogen, bans inhalation for non-medical purposes and stops its sale for entertainment.

The legislation comes after the death of a man in Suwon from inhaling too much nitrous oxide from a balloon -- also known as a “happy balloon” -- in April.

Selling and buying nitrous oxide now does not violate Korean law, according to police.

Nitrous oxide is a colorless, sweet-tasting gas that has been mainly used medically. Doctors and dentists use it as an anesthetic, a tranquilizer and a painkiller.

More Koreans are inhaling nitrous oxide from happy balloons at parties to experience euphoria.

The balloons are priced at 2,000 won ($1.75) and can be easily bought.

Experts say overuse of the gas can lead to oxygen deprivation, resulting in a blood pressure drop, fainting and even a heart attack. Some studies suggest that people might develop a dependence.

“Many people inhale happy balloons after consuming alcohol,” an anesthesiology professor from Ajou University told the Chosun Ilbo, a Korean news outlet. “Nitrous oxide can increase the risk of oxygen deprivation as alcohol damages one’s respiratory triggering function.”