The Ministry of Public Security said it is considering listing recreational nitrous oxide balloons, popularly known as funky balls, as a regulated drug and precursor substance. (Photo: Hanoimoi.vn) Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry ofPublic Security said it is considering listing recreational nitrousoxide balloons, popularly known as funky balls, as a regulated drugand precursor substance.
The rampant sale and use of funky balls,especially amongst urban youths, has become a major public health andsafety concern as experts issued warnings of the substance's addictiveproperties and its negative effects on the nervous system.
The ministry has been coordinating withvarious forces to understand the scope of the problem.
Nitrous oxide (NO2) is also known as laughinggas - when people inhale the gas they often burst into laughter. TheNO2 creates immediate dizziness and blocks the nervous system,reducing the ability to think, distorting the perception of sound and evencausing brief visual hallucinations.
A person exposed to nitrous oxide in a closedroom or inhaling it directly can suffer from a lack of oxygen inthe bloodstream.
It is easy to buy funky balls at barsand pubs, and there are various vendors on Facebook offering to deliverthem right to buyers’ houses. Balloons cost between 30,000-150,000 VND (1.30-7USD) each, depending on their sizes.
According to the ministry, NO2 is not listed asdrug or precursor substance under Government decree 73/2018/ND-CP, dated May2018.
But the ministry has been studying theregulations of the National Narcotics Control Board (INCB) and othercountries to list the gas as drug to provide a legal basis to control itsproduction, sale and use.
According to the ministry, no country in theworld has taken the step of listing the gas as a drug to be regulated.-VNA
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