Laughing gas ban 'isn't enough' says mum of teen who nearly died taking it

09 November 2023 , 14:23

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The mum of a teenager who nearly died after laughing gas made his chest feel like "popping bubble wrap" has said a ban on the drug would be little more than a "slap on the wrist".

Alex Littler is lucky to be alive after inhaling nitrous oxide - a Class C drug recently outlawed by the Government - at Parklife Festival in Manchester last year. The now-17-year-old was rushed to hospital feeling ill and later admitted to doctors and mum Cathy Mccann he had taken it.

Medics diagnosed him with a ruptured and leaking lung, and used an overnight mask to remove the trapped air around his lungs and heart managing to avoid surgery and ultimately save his life. The horrifying turn of events unfolded as police shared images on social media of industrial bags filled with kilos of the canisters used to inhale the gas.

This week's King's Speech meanwhile announced that recreational use of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is now illegal in the UK. This means anyone caught with the gas intending to get high could face up to two years in prison if they're repeat offenders.

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An x-ray showed the impact on Alex's lungs (Kennedy News and Media)

Laughing gas ban 'isn't enough' says mum of teen who nearly died taking it

Alex suffered a ruptured lung (Kennedy News and Media)

Those dealing, supplying or producing the drug could also be hit with an unlimited fine and a jail term of up to 14 years under the new law. Cathy, 46, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, expressed her support for the ban but felt it should have been classified as a class B drug or higher, not class C.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

She said: "I think it is a good idea but I think nitrous oxide should have been made a class B drug or higher because what is making it a class C drug going to do." She added: "It's not going to stop kids from doing it. They will be getting a slap on the wrist if they are found with it and that's it. I think it [nitrous oxide] will still go on. There will be no less canisters around our area than there were last week."

"I can't see people going to prison for possession of it. It's the same if you're caught with cannabis on you. You just get a slap on the wrist unless you have a large amount."

"If a young person gets caught with one of those gas canisters, they won't get a prison sentence. They won't implement this. They would need to be caught three, four or five times [for anything to happen]. I don't think it will have a big effect."

Mum Cathy, pictured with Alex, says banning the drug isn't enough (Kennedy News and Media)

Alex admitted taking the class C drug at the festival (Kennedy News and Media)

Nitrous oxide is bought in cannisters and used legally for anaesthesia or as a propellant for whipped cream, however it is often pumped into balloons to be inhaled by those hunting for a 'high'. Despite Cathy believing the prison sentence for possession of laughing gas will not be implemented often, the mum-of-two said she is pleased with the laws coming in for people supplying and producing the drug.

Cathy said: "I'm glad about the prison sentence being brought in for the people selling nitrous oxide. I think the fine and sentence being brought in for people being found producing or supplying nitrous oxide is a good thing and agree with this."

"I think this will help save lives and will hopefully stop people selling it. It is still out there on the internet to buy and people are selling to under 18's as well."

Speaking just after her son's accident last year, the beauty therapist said the whole ordeal was terrifying and Alex vowed to never touch it again. More than a year on from her son's dangerous stunt, Cathy says Alex has stuck to his promise but said some of his friends still inhale nitrous oxide.

Cathy shared: "My son has not touched laughing gas since his accident. At first, after the accident, some of his friends didn't but they are still using it now. It scared them at first but now some of them still do it."

"Alex said it's the worst thing he could have done. He didn't realise himself what the dangers were and he did it because all his mates were doing it. [At the hospital last year], they asked him questions about whether he's had injuries, been squashed in a crowd, been weightlifting or done anything that could have caused the damage."

"He said no to all of those so they told him to be honest and asked what he'd taken because we said he'd been to Parklife. He just came out with it and said he had balloons there and I burst into tears. I couldn't believe it, he said he hadn't had anything. It upsets me thinking about it, it's horrible. It could have been fatal. It could have killed him."