Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of regulations governing the sale of nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide was controlled as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in November 2023. At the same time the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 were amended to regulate its lawful use in healthcare, catering and other sectors.

In the year to March 2024, the most recent year for which we have data, 0.9% of people aged 16 to 59 years in England and Wales reported having used nitrous oxide in the last year, a decrease compared to the previous year (1.3%). Various factors underlie drug use and this decline cannot be attributed directly to the control implemented in 2023.

The Government will continue to keep all drug legislation under review.