UPDATE: SEPT 2: A law in NY, which went into effect in November, prohibits the sale of the chargers used to dispense the sweet topping — not canned whipped cream itself — to people under 21.
New York, passed a new law in November, 2021, bringing it up to date with other localities in the US who have issued similar legislation.
The new law stipulates that you have to be 21 to buy canisters of whipped topping.
The law went into effect in August.
Youngsters are using the canisters to get high from the nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, in the products.
Inhaling the laughing gas causes a short ecstatic high, but it can also cause low blood pressure, and even heart attack or death. It can lead to memory loss and mental illness. When the gas is inhaled it produces feelings of euphoria, giddiness, hence its name, laughing gas. It can also cause auditory and visual hallucinations.
Teenagers, the top abusers of the recreational drug, have a name for the inhalant – a “whippet.”
Since the product has been easy to buy, whippets are now among the most abused drugs in the world.
Fines can be $250 and higher If a supermarket or food chain is found selling the canister to someone under 21.
Since many big stores offer self-checkout nowadays, many are instituting a system that flags the purchase of the canisters, and requires an employee or machine to check for an ID.
The law was sponsored by Democratic State Senator Joseph Addabbo of Queens, New York, after he learned about the scope of the problem and victims in his own district. He received complaints from his constituents about the heavy use of nitrous oxide which had become a substance abuse problem among teenagers.
“Sadly, young people buy and inhale this gas to get ‘high’ because they mistakenly believe it is a ‘safe’ substance. This law will eliminate easy access to this dangerous substance for our youth,” Senator Addabbo said in a statement.
Although restricting sales to people who can prove they are 21 and older, over-the-counter in supermarkets, groceries and convenience stores, will help reduce the incidence of “whippet” abuse, the online market for canister products is vast, and people can also buy empty dispensers and fill them up with nitrous oxide that they purchase from online sources. How will that be controlled?
