What Are Whippets?

Whippets are nitrous oxide canisters. A CDC report describes nitrous oxide as a colorless gas used clinically as an inhalational anesthetic, analgesic and anxiolytic, and says it is most notably a propellant in steel aerosol containers used in whipped cream dispensers, from which it can be inhaled, known as whippets. The FDA advises consumers not to inhale nitrous oxide products from canisters, tanks or chargers of any size, which are sold in unflavored and flavored versions as a food processing propellant for whipped cream and culinary use, and warns that intentional misuse or inhalation can lead to serious adverse health events, including death.

The FDA says inhaling nitrous oxide can cause problems ranging from abnormal blood counts, asphyxiation, blood clots, frostbite, headache, limb weakness, loss of consciousness, numbness, paralysis, psychiatric disturbances, trouble walking and vitamin B12 deficiency to, in some cases, death, and that for some people who inhale it regularly, the habit can lead to prolonged spinal cord or brain damage even after they stop. The CDC report says frequent or chronic long-term use can cause disabling neurologic damage, including subacute combined spinal cord degeneration, as a consequence of functional vitamin B12 deficiency, and that treatment involves permanently stopping nitrous oxide use along with high-dose intramuscular vitamin B12, with recovery often protracted and incomplete.

Harm has been rising. CDC reported that in Michigan in 2023, poison center exposures, emergency department visits and emergency medical service responses related to nitrous oxide misuse were four to five times those in 2019. A study in JAMA Network Open counted 1,240 US deaths attributable to nitrous oxide poisoning among people aged 15 to 74 from 2010 to 2023, with 23 deaths in 2010 and 156 in 2023.

States are restricting sales. South Carolina's law enforcement division says the state's nitrous oxide law, S. 751, became law on May 18, 2026, and bars any person or retailer from selling, marketing or representing nitrous oxide for recreational inhalation or personal use. Washington's law, effective June 11, 2026, makes selling or giving away a canister or other container exclusively containing nitrous oxide a gross misdemeanor, with exemptions for medical, dental and veterinary care, food propellant, manufacturing and automotive uses. In Congress, the Nitrous Oxide Safety Act of 2026, a bill to ban the sale of nitrous oxide consumer products, was forwarded by a House subcommittee to the full committee on September 1, 2026.