Equipped with pliers and gloves, about twenty young people embarked on a rather special cleaning operation in the city of Yuri-Gagarin, in Colombes. Among the papers and plastics, the children are tasked with picking up the small empty nitrous oxide canisters that abound in the neighborhood.
Intended for culinary use and in particular for making whipped cream, these capsules are used as laughing gas by many young people who give themselves a few seconds of giggles at the risk of their health.
“We put them in plastic bottles and during the debriefing, we will show them that there are people who consume it regularly. If we manage to make young people understand that it is bad for their health, we will have won, ”explains Nordine Khelika, municipal councilor in Colombes.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Health, in 2019, around 40 young people suffered from serious health problems such as neurological and psychiatric disorders after inhaling this laughing gas.