The Student Room Group

Is it Illegal to sell balloons of Laughing gas?

Right so me and my flatmate had this idea for freshers week after going to a festival last week.

Basically there was loads of people selling baloons of laughing gas for £2.50-£3 a pop. There was police around who didnt seem to be batting an eyelid.

Came home and looked on ebay and you can buy 600 canisters of laughing gas for £155. Now if we were to sell balloons at £3 each to gullible freshers with shiney new student loans that works out as £1645 profit...

Now this all sounds well and good, but what is the legality of selling laughing gas? Is it a matter of selling the baloons and then "its up to them what they do with it" or does the blame lie with the vendor?

I remember 2-3 years ago I bought a baloon of NOS from behind the bar in a club in bournemouth, but I seem to remember the laws regarding it have changed since then.

Cheers in advance peeps

xx

Scroll to see replies

I believe laughing gas is perfectly legal
Reply 2
Haha that sounds hilarious!
Reply 3
im fairly sure its legal.
Reply 4
That's quite steep in price though!
Reply 5
It is an offence under Section 52 of the Medicines Act 1968 to supply the gas for inhalation. The maximum sentence is two years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Possessing and inhaling laughing gas is not illegal, but supplying the gas for inhalation is.
Reply 6
I'd laugh if you went ahead and bought it, then somehow ended up with a whopping great fine. After following the advice of TSR.
Reply 7

Today the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency warned that sale of nitrous oxide gas for inhalation is an offence under Section 52 of the Medicines Act 1968 of selling and/or supplying a pharmacy medicine not under the control of a pharmacist.

The maximum penalty is two years in jail and an unlimited fine.

The only legal use of nitrous oxide is in catering, where it is used to whip cream, and in medicine where it is used as a painkiller, often administered during childbirth.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-440210/Laughing-gas-craze-joke-health-watchdog-warns-club.html


Here is your answer.

So if you get caught selling it to inhale you potentially face jail time and a pretty hefty fine.
Reply 8
yeah im pretty sure its legal as well, in the end its harmless really.
just makes you talk funny :P
Reply 9
fire2burn
Here is your answer.

So if you get caught selling it to inhale you potentially face jail time and a pretty hefty fine.



Cheers! Thought it was too good to be true!

Rep for you :smile:
Reply 10
Pop_tart
yeah im pretty sure its legal as well, in the end its harmless really.
just makes you talk funny :P


That's Helium, not NOS.

And as already posted above, it isn't legal to supply NOS.
Balloons*
Reply 12
Towelie88
Cheers! Thought it was too good to be true!

Rep for you :smile:


Oi! What about the fact I gave the same answer 2 posts previous! :wink::p:
Reply 13
simeon
It is an offence under Section 52 of the Medicines Act 1968 to supply the gas for inhalation. The maximum sentence is two years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Possessing and inhaling laughing gas is not illegal, but supplying the gas for inhalation is.


This.

OP - why are you repping the person who reiterated the point rather than this guy who posted it first?! :confused:
Reply 14
£3 a balloon is far far too much. At parties people generally sell them for like £1.50. If you're careful about where you sell them you aren't going to get done.
Reply 15
You can sell it to them, tell them it's laughing gas but inform them that they're are only being sold as expensive balloons.

A wink and a cheesy grin will let them know.
Reply 16
simeon
Oi! What about the fact I gave the same answer 2 posts previous! :wink::p:


Apologies dude, totally missed your post somehow. Will rep you tomorrow if I remember :smile:
simeon
Oi! What about the fact I gave the same answer 2 posts previous! :wink::p:


Mwahaha I stole your rep :p:

I feel a tad bad about that so I'll rep you instead.
Reply 18
Elipsis
£3 a balloon is far far too much. At parties people generally sell them for like £1.50. If you're careful about where you sell them you aren't going to get done.


Yeah at parties I would expect to pay £1.50. But at festivals and out clubbing I have never seen them being sold for less than £2.50, usually £3 more often than not. At bestival last year there was a guy selling them for £4 a peice, which is crazy. But drunk/pilled up people with more money than sense were still buying them!
If you put signs up advertising the fact they are simply balloons, with no mention of the effects of laughing gas you might just get away with it.

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