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More and more teenagers in Bulgaria are using laughing gas, authorities warn

Photo: Archive

"The number of people addicted to nitrous oxide (commonly known as laughing gas) is growing - this fashion flooded the market, the risks were underestimated and now we are noticing the consequences," Rositsa Stanulova from the Prevention and Information Center on Drug Addiction Problems of Sofia Municipality said in an interview for the BNR.
The addiction therapist warns that nitrous oxide is not to be underestimated by young people and their parents because there are short-term and long-term consequences of its use that can be serious. "The risks are related to accidents, especially when it is used in smoke-filled spaces deprived of oxygen flow, such as nightclubs and discos," warned Rositsa Stanulova. 

According to her, it leads to a decrease in oxygen saturation in the brain, which leads to a loss of connection with reality, paranoid thoughts, hallucinations, inadequate reactions. Sometimes it can even lead to strokes and paresis.

"More and more patients are coming to us with an addiction to paradise gas with all the consequences of addiction," the therapist said.


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