Content Reviewed By:
SUD treatment executive, national news contributor & keynote speaker.
Navigation:
- Overview
- What Are Whippets?
- Why Do People Use whippets?
- What are the Dangers of Whippets?
- What Are the Signs of Recreational Whippet Use?
- What Are The Treatment for Whippets and Other Types of Inhalant Abuse?
- Videos
Overview
It’s a tragic reality of addiction and substance use that many old things become new again, including the increasing popularity of whippets as a delivery system for the misuse of nitrous oxide. As deaths from opioids, benzodiazepines, and other dangerous addiction threats continue to dominate the prevention and awareness conversation, this familiar party drug is finding a new home on TikTok and other social media platforms and posing an increasingly urgent threat to teenagers and young adults.
What Are Whippets?
Whippets are a common method of recreational nitrous oxide use (also called laughing gas). They’re most often made from empty pressurized spray cans, like the kind used to dispense whipped cream (hence the name “whippet”).
One of the most commonly abused types of inhalants, their popularity has exploded even more in recent years as more and more social media users are actively filming themselves inhaling the drug on TikTok and other platforms. Millions of Americans per year sniff nitrous oxide through whippets at least once and many use them on a regular basis.
Nitrous oxide is legally approved for regulated use in medical procedures, but recreational use is extremely dangerous and sometimes fatal. Although their immediate and long-term risks are often downplayed, the reality is that prolonged and untreated whippet use can lead to psychological addiction, organ damage, brain injury, and even overdose death.
While rates of fatality are a fraction of those of opioids, benzodiazepines and other controlled substances, use of nitrous oxide has increased across the globe. Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicates that nearly 13 million Americans aged 12 and older had misused nitrous oxide in their lifetime.
Food for Thought: Even nitrous oxide used in medical and dental procedures is administered with 30-70 percent oxygen, so patients never breathe pure nitrous. Recreational use of whippets means users are breathing in 100 percent of nitrous oxide.
Why Do People Use whippets?
People use whippets to feel an immediate and intense short-term high that occurs when nitrous oxide cuts off oxygen to the brain and creates a euphoric light-headedness. Americans have been misusing nitrous oxide for years to enhance social experiences at parties, nightclubs, music festivals, and similar environments. It’s often thought that they’re less harmless or addictive than other drugs like heroin, cocaine, and even alcohol. This line of thinking has created a culture of recreational use that has cost lives on college campuses and elsewhere.
What are the Dangers of Whippets?
Use of whippets poses multiple direct and indirect risks. Direct risks of use include but are not limited to:
- Deprivation of Oxygen to the Brain
- Permanent Neurological Damage
- Confusion and Disorientation
- Impaired Judgement and Decision Making
- Severe Light-Headedness and Nausea
Additional health risks associated with all inhalants include liver and kidney damage, hearing loss, and bone marrow and central nervous system damage, not to mention pulmonary issues.
One of the most urgent and extensively documented long-term dangers of nitrous use is the loss of vitamin B12 associated with prolonged inhalation. This can lead to a variety of severe health defects, including but not limited to spinal degeneration and paralysis.
Another serious and urgent health risk associated with whippet use is a condition called sudden sniffing death syndrome, which occurs when the user stops breathing because of the chemicals they’re inhaling and the way they’re inhaling them. Sudden sniffing death syndrome can occur from just one episode of nitrous use and strikes without warning.
Finally, the impaired behavior from whippet use can lead to hazardous and deadly behavior. One of the highest-profile examples of this reality is the death of former Zappos CEO, who died in a fire after locking himself in a shed with nitrous oxide cartridges and a whipped cream dispenser.
What Are the Signs of Recreational Whippet Use?
Some of the most common physical, psychological and behavioral signs of whippet abuse, include but are not limited to:
- Reddening and Irritation of the Eyes
- Difficulty Breathing
- Confusion and Disorientation
- Tightening of the Chest
- Discoloration of the Fingers, Toes and Lips
- Extreme Light-Headedness
- Slurred and Incoherent Speech
- Burns of Frostbite Around the Mouth, Nose or Fingers
Additional behavioral signs for which friends and loved ones should watch out for may include the collection of pressurized spray cans for no apparent reason, sudden changes in social patterns and mood, abnormal sleeping patterns, and decline in professional or academic performance.
Prolonged and untreated recreational inhalant use can create lasting changes in the brain’s chemistry that can quickly lead to chemical dependency. Signs of dependency often begin with severe cravings as well as physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms.
What Are The Treatment for Whippets and Other Types of Inhalant Abuse?
Treatment for whippet misuse depends upon several factors, including how long and how much the person has been using them, the impact nitrous oxide has had on their health, and their ongoing care needs. Generally speaking, however, the most effective treatment for whippet abuse includes a combination of medically supervised detoxification (if appropriate) and comprehensive behavioral rehabilitation (rehab).
Rehab can be administered in an inpatient, outpatient, or virtual program, depending on what’s clinically appropriate and conducive to patients’ lifestyle obligations. The most important thing is to get help when needed. Many programs are covered by private insurance for maximum accessibility.
For those experiencing vitamin B12 deficiency from prolonged inhalant use, repletion therapy can help restore the body to normal B12 levels; however, this should be done as soon as possible for eligible patients.
There is no such thing as a harmless recreational inhalant use, and whippets are definitely not an exception.
When it comes to whippets, the party can and usually does end very quickly and with serious health consequences. The immediate and lasting risks of nitrous oxide abuse have been well documented. No short-term high is worth risking your life over. Don’t buy into the myth that whippets are a harmless or more acceptable type of recreational drug use. Most importantly, don’t be afraid or ashamed to ask for help when you need it.
