As fall arrives, so do traditional drinks, like pumpkin spice lattes and creamy hot chocolate, both bringing warmth and comfort to combat the cold weather. Atop of these drinks sit mounds of deceptively innocent whipped cream.

When people think of recreational drugs, commonplace names like alcohol and nicotine come to mind, as well as harder drugs like marijuana, methamphetamine, and cocaine. Not many think of nitrous oxide, which makes sense since the substance only recently made the news.

The use of recreational drugs continues to present itself as a national epidemic. NCDAS corroborates this, reporting that among Americans 12 years and older “37.309 million were current illegal drug users (used within the last 30 days) as of 2020.” Among younger adults and teenagers, the most likely type of drugs used would be recreational, “chemical substances taken for enjoyment” instead of medical reasons.

Hearing about nitrous oxide, in the context of drug use, may cause some to scratch their head, but they may be more familiar with the term laughing gas, used by dentists and doctors as general anesthesia and a severe pain reliever. Recently, parents and doctors have been bringing up their concern about the overuse of the gas as a drug.

Making national news last month, Insider reported that a 2021 law prohibited New Yorkers under 21 from buying whipped cream chargers known as “whippets.” While some may see this as laughable, many may have stopped finding it funny after seeing whipped cream canisters littering sidewalks and hearing that approximately 1 in 5 young people have used inhalants like whippets by the time they reach eighth grade according to the DEA. More dangerous would be what occurs after abusing these drugs: “damage to the parts of the brain that control thinking, moving, vision, and hearing."

Paralysis presents another consequence of inhaling the gas, shown by The New York Post’s story of a 32-year-old man who went to the emergency room after not being able to walk for two weeks, according to a case study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. He also experienced tingling in his arms and legs for six weeks before his hospitalization, the study noted. Two months before he started exhibiting symptoms, the man had been inhaling nitrous oxide daily.

According to Inside Climate News, nitrous oxide has 300 times more potency than carbon dioxide, which might cause those huffing the gas to think twice before doing so. At this point, it might be smarter to only use the chargers for homemade whipped cream or just stick to Reddi Whip.