Drug causes Brits in holiday hotspot to have seizures on the street

Laughing gas has surged back onto the party scene in Majorca, with dealers targeting tourists on Magaluf’s notorious Punta Ballena strip—leaving them at risk of seizures, memory loss and even death, officials warn.

Nitrous oxide—also known as hippy crack—had been in decline in the UK after a series of deaths linked to the drug. 

But authorities say its use is rising again in both Magaluf and the capital Palma, with discarded silver canisters now littering the streets of Playa del Carma.

Jose Tirado, president of Palma’s emergency services, has called for an urgent crackdown, describing the problem as ‘totally out of control’.

Former users have previously told the Daily Mail they would get through up to 500 canisters in a weekend, describing the high as ‘more addictive than cocaine’.

Side effects seen on the streets of Majorca include seizures—with users foaming at the mouth and collapsing—as well as hyperventilation and dangerous lapses in memory.

The drug, which gives a short-lived feeling of relaxation and euphoria, rose to prominence in the early 2010s. 

Following a ban on sales in pubs and bars, dealers are now selling balloons on the street to cash in on demand.

President Tirado warned this year could be one of the worst for tourists, with gangs operating with ‘total impunity’ to make up for falling visitor numbers by brazenly targeting young holidaymakers on the streets.

Katie Mae, a bartender at a popular Irish pub in the city, described the drug as ‘the worst of them all’.

‘I’ll lecture anyone I see taking it,’ she told The Sun. 

‘I’ve seen the worst things from laughing gas. I’ve seen young lads having seizures on the streets and foaming at the mouth, but their friends are high so they do nothing to help.

‘One girl I saw inhaled gas straight from the canister and it froze one side of her face. It was all cut up and she would have been scarred for life.

‘But the consequences aren’t talked about anywhere near enough. People don’t take it seriously as a drug – but it’s one of the worst.’

Another British woman working the strip in San Antonio admitted she used to sell laughing gas but stopped when a customer ‘nearly died’.

‘He fell backwards and smashed his head on the road in the midst of a balloon high,’ she recalled. 

‘As soon as that happened I stopped [selling it]. It really freaked me out.’  

According to government officials, police  have ramped up their investigations, carrying out more than 20 operations between June and July into the drug. 

Allegedly 23 fines have been slapped on illegal vendors peddling the drug, ranging from £390 to £650. 

But President Tirado has said this is not enough to make a difference. ‘We are tired of calling the police and they don’t come,’ he explained. 

‘In fact, they would have to go with trucks to be able to take the attempted quantities of counterfeits that they sell. 

‘It is inadmissible. We merchants pay our taxes and we see how the mafias take away our customers.’ 

The San Antonio council added that they are hiring more officers and introducing private security in a bid to  crack down on dealers and put an end to the epidemic. 

But, it admitted: ‘The city council is fully aware that these are only the first steps in a broader transformation process and that there is still a long way to go.’ 

One factor experts believe is fuelling sales abroad is the low cost, with canisters sold for under £5 along popular tourist strips.

Each small canister is enough to fill a single balloon, while larger models can hold up to 80. Balloons are typically inhaled in gulps by one person or passed around a group over a short period.

In the UK, figures from the Office for National Statistics show 4.2 per cent of 16-to-24-year-olds—around 250,000 people—used nitrous oxide between 2022 and 2023. While that still puts it above ketamine, LSD and ecstasy (3.8, 1.5 and 2.4 per cent respectively), it represents a 54 per cent drop from previous levels.

Almost one in ten young people—8.7 per cent, or around 500,000—used the drug in 2019–20, the last year of data unaffected by the pandemic.

Despite the decline, many still view nitrous oxide as harmless compared with substances such as cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy. 

Experts warn this is a misconception—and that recreational use of the drug is dangerous.

Inhaling it can lead to dizziness, weakness in the legs and impaired memory. Roughly 40 per cent of users have reported suffering side effects such as anaemia, cognitive impairment and chronic headaches.

It can even cause users to faint or suffocate due to the temporary lack of oxygen to the brain, if they inhale highly concentrated forms of the gas.