Children are doing nangs at school: How did nitrous oxide become so prevalent?

When Tessa Jones thinks about her son Daniel, she remembers a hard-working young man who had finally begun to enjoy the rewards of years of effort.

The 36-year-old Brisbane-based fruit shop owner had paid off his business loan, was planning a long-awaited holiday and had a bucket list of experiences he wanted to tick off.

"He was very loud, very boisterous," Ms Jones said.

"He was the child I never had to ask twice to do anything."

In February this year Ms Jones found her son dead in his bedroom, that handwritten bucket list in the same room, alongside the materials that led to his death.

Daniel's death certificate records the cause as "plastic bag and nitrous oxide asphyxia".

Known colloquially as "nangs" or "laughing gas", nitrous oxide has long been used as an anaesthetic in hospitals and by dentists, and in commercial kitchens to whip cream.

Daniel, a father of five, used nangs for neither purpose. He had taken to using large tanks of nitrous oxide to get high.

Nitrous oxide can legally be sold for legitimate uses such as whipping cream, but it is illegal to sell it for recreational use.

The typically short, high, and legal status of the chemical compound has doctors and researchers warning that its recreational use has become increasingly widespread, aided by easy access to large canisters sold online and delivered to homes.

In most states, you can buy nangs legally over the counter at tobacconists and in some convenience stores with little difficulty. Western Australia has strict rules on who can buy nitrous oxide, and South Australia has restrictions on the hours during which it can be purchased over the counter.

For Ms Jones, the speed at which the substance took hold of her son's life is difficult to comprehend.

"Five or six weeks. That's it,"

she said.

"I feel like they've stolen my son's life."

A booming market

Data from the Australian Border Force (ABF) shows imports of nitrous oxide have surged over the past decade.

In 2015, Australia imported 249 tonnes; by 2025, that figure had climbed to almost 3,800 tonnes, a 15-fold increase.

The customs value of those imports increased from about $2 million to $19 million over the same period.

Researchers and clinicians say it is difficult to know exactly how much of that increase is linked to recreational use because Australia lacks comprehensive data on nitrous oxide consumption.

Associate Professor Jacqui Cameron, a social work researcher at the University of Wollongong, who has studied nitrous oxide use among young people, said the absence of national prevalence data was a major problem.

"We are not really aware, particularly with young people, how much they're using because we're not asking that question," Ms Cameron told 7.30.

Her research found that many young people did not view nitrous oxide as a dangerous drug.

"They talked about the fact that it was a safe drug because it wasn't illegal and because it was so easy to get," she said.

Some participants described using nangs on the way to parties or alongside alcohol and other drugs.

"The high is quick acting, so it goes quite quickly," Ms Cameron said.

"They would do one after the other to get a continuous high."

She told 7.30 she is hearing from drug and alcohol workers that they are being used by some children while at school.

"Children as young as 10 are being seen in the playground using nangs,"

she said.

'Something had taken control of me'

For grounds-keeper Sam Bramman, what began as experimentation quickly spiralled into addiction.

The now 21-year-old first tried nitrous oxide at a party in 2023.

"I quickly became addicted," Mr Bramman told 7.30.

At the height of his use, his days revolved around obtaining and consuming nangs.

"My sole purpose of the day was to use nangs,"

he said.

"I would be thinking, 'When's my next hit going to be?'"

His addiction culminated in a prolonged psychotic episode that saw him flee his Sydney home in a state of extreme paranoia.

"I got in the car to go to the Gold Coast because I thought the police were after me," he said.

He inhaled nitrous oxide while driving and lost consciousness at the wheel.

"I woke up from being passed out from it, and I was still driving,"

he said.

"I was on the wrong side of the road, on the highway."

He was later involuntarily admitted to a psychiatric ward.

After 18 months of recovery, he is now campaigning for tighter controls and greater public awareness of the risks associated with nitrous oxide.

That you can buy nitrous oxide over the counter in New South Wales, with few questions asked, concerns him.

Federal laws state that it is illegal to sell nitrous oxide if you know it's going to be used for recreational purposes.

However, when 7.30 attended several tobacconists in Sydney none of the sellers asked what purpose the products would be used for.

Doctors seeing more severe presentations

Royal Perth Hospital toxicologist Dr Jessamine Soderstrom says clinicians are seeing increasing harm linked to nitrous oxide use.

One of the most serious consequences is neurological damage caused by the gas interfering with vitamin B12.

"One of the main effects is nerve damage to the spinal cord," she said.

The consequences can include numbness, difficulty walking and in severe cases permanent disability.

Dr Soderstrom said clinicians were also seeing psychiatric complications.

"It causes depression, psychosis, and if you've got a pre-existing mental health issue, it worsens that,"

she said.

She said another significant change had been the shift away from small cream-charger bulbs towards much larger tanks.

While users once commonly consumed canisters containing around 9 grams of nitrous oxide, many now use tanks containing hundreds or even thousands of grams.

"There is no legitimate use for the big tanks," Dr Soderstrom said.

Patchwork of laws problematic

Despite Dr Soderstrom's view that there is no legitimate use for large tanks, they are readily available from a host of retailers.

Different states also have different regulations, which create loopholes.

Dr Cameron described the regulatory landscape as "patchy".

"It is terribly confusing," she said.

While some jurisdictions have introduced restrictions on sales, experts say enforcement remains difficult, particularly online.

A growing number of businesses advertise nitrous oxide delivery services, often operating 24/7.

For Ms Jones, whose son ordered several large tanks in the weeks and days before his death, the situation is deeply frustrating.

"Why does a caterer need gas delivered at two o'clock in the morning?"

she said.

One delivery company that made several trips to Daniel's home even used the street name for nitrous oxide, nangs in its business name.

It has left his family sceptical that the business had any legitimate intent or oversight.

"They must know that this substance isn't going for its proper purpose," Ms Jones said.

7.30 requested an interview with that company and attended one of its listed business addresses but no-one was there.

Dr Cameron said regulation alone would not solve the problem and called for a broader harm-minimisation approach, including better research, public education and nationally consistent laws.

"We need to get rid of that patchwork and confusion from state to state," she said.

For families like the Joneses those changes cannot come soon enough.

"I don't see who wins by keeping this system going,"

Ms Jones said.

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