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Dubai /Â WAM
The Ministry of Health and Prevention issued a circular warning about the dangers of misusing ethyl chloride spray, which has recently gained interest among adolescent students who have been purchasing it from various social networking sites, e-commerce websites, private pharmacies and speciality stores. The circular states that the substance is a local anaesthetic that affects the central nervous system when inhaled.
Dr Amin Hussein Al Amiri, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Ministry of Health and Prevention’s Public Policy and Licensing Sector, confirmed that the ministry has issued the circular after monitoring the widespread use of ethyl chloride spray among adolescents.
He explained that youths, who call it laughing gas, inhale the compound after spraying it on a piece of cloth, resulting in bouts of laughter or crying followed by hallucinations. He added that the product is not criminalised, low in cost compared to other categories of drug and easily available, leading to numerous cases of addiction among school and university students.