A law prohibiting nitrous oxide for intoxication purposes took effect on July 1, 2024. Since then, calls to Sweden's Poison Information Centre about the gas have dropped sharply, from 1,167 in 2024 to 683 through November 2025. Social Minister Jakob Forssmed (KD) welcomes the trend and highlights the law's impact.
In 2024, the Poison Information Centre received 1,167 calls regarding people inhaling nitrous oxide for intoxication purposes. Through November 2025, that number stands at 683, with a marked monthly decline since the end of spring. Imports of nitrous oxide have also decreased significantly over the year.
Experts at the Poison Information Centre and Social Minister Jakob Forssmed (KD) attribute the drop to the law change effective July 1, 2024. The legislation makes it illegal to sell nitrous oxide if there is reason to believe it will be used as an intoxicant and prohibits sales to minors.
"The numbers plummeted after the law change. It's hugely encouraging. Every figure in the statistics represents someone who felt ill from nitrous oxide, so the decrease is great fun. It's hard to say it wasn't due to the law change," says Johanna Nordmark Grass, a doctor at the Poison Information Centre, to TT.
Jakob Forssmed expresses satisfaction with the statistics: "One gets happy seeing the numbers. It shows that legislation can make a difference." "I'm very glad we could fast-track this legislation, getting it in place half a year earlier than the inquiry proposed. We had an unsustainable development where, not least, young people risked neurological damage from nitrous oxide," he tells TT.
Johanna Nordmark Grass highlights the risks: "What has worried us is that many get hooked in abuse, inhaling large amounts. Then you can suffer damage to the nervous system, both in the body and the brain. We're not entirely sure that the damages one can get, like sensory loss, go away."