The Ministry of Health announced the start of a public consultation regarding the inclusion of nitrous oxide (or protoxide) in the provisions of the Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
The reasons for the proposed regulation include:
- The occasional occurrence of packaging sales cases for recreational use of nitrogen suboxide, especially during the summer months in tourist areas.
- Nitrogen peroxide is also known as "laughing gas" and has sedative and euphoric properties. Users inhale the gas through canisters or balloons, in which it is placed.
- The main risks of abuse of nitric oxide include suffocation, crossing (alteration of space-time perception) and accidents as a result.
- Other applications of nitric oxide include medical use as an anesthetic and its use as a propellant in whipped cream and other sprays used in food preparation. It is noted that, according to information, people who sell nitrogen suboxide are supplied with large quantities of compressed supermarket whipped cream packages, remove the gas, place it in canisters or balloons and then sell it.
The aim of the proposed acts is for violators to be subject to stricter provisions of the law than at the present time (Article 246 (f) of the Penal Code (Negligent and reckless acts) for the purposes of preventing the occurrence of the sale of hypoxic refrigerant. is at serious risk to public health.
The relevant Decree and the draft Regulations have been sent today to the involved bodies in the context of the public consultation, which will last from today until March 2, 2020 at 3 p.m.
The results of the public consultation will be included in the Impact Analysis Report, which will be drafted upon completion of the process. Subsequently, the texts as they will be formulated during the public consultation and the Copy Analysis Report will be sent to the Legal Service of the Republic for legislative control and then to the competent state bodies for enactment.
The texts in question will also be posted on the website of the Pharmaceutical Services at the following address: www.moh.gov.cy/moh/phs/phs.nsf/dmlannouncements_gr/dmlannouncements_gr?OpenDocument
Famagusta.News
