Nitrous oxide contributes to 1,800 road accidents in the last three years – causing 63 deaths – prompting a complete prohibition
The sale and possession of laughing gas will be banned in the Netherlands after a spate of car accidents blamed on drivers abusing nitrous oxide.
It is thought to be the first complete ban on sale, possession and use of nitrous oxide in Europe, although its sale is already banned to minors in some countries.
The Netherlands has a famously liberal drugs policy. Although it is against the law to produce, sell or possess them, the sale of soft drugs including cannabis in coffee shops is tolerated.
Nitrous oxide played a role in 1,800 car accidents in the Netherlands over the past three years – a rate of nearly two a day – causing 63 deaths, according to police figures.