Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to introduce a requirement for retailers to hold a licence to sell nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide is subject to the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 which makes it an offence to supply, offer to supply, possess with intent to supply, produce, import or export nitrous oxide knowingly or recklessly for its psychoactive effect. Possession of nitrous oxide is lawful, except in custodial settings, and a Home Office controlled drugs licence is not required by those who wish to use it for legitimate medical, research, catering or industrial purposes.

The Government are concerned about the misuse of nitrous oxide, its recognised health harms and the potential impact on communities. That is why I wrote to the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) on 7 February asking them to expedite their updated harms assessment on nitrous oxide following the Government’s initial request to the ACMD in September 2021.

The ACMD published their report on nitrous oxide on the 6 March, setting out the evidence as it currently stands and making a number of recommendations for action. The Government will consider the ACMD advice carefully along with any other available evidence, as appropriate, before deciding how to proceed.