What Are Nangs? History of Nitrous Oxide

13 July, 2021

nitrous oxide

Nangs are small metal cylindrical bulbs filled with nitrous oxide, which is also known as Laughing gas, nitro, N2O, NOS, nangs, whippet, hippy crack, buzz bomb, balloons. Used in whipped cream siphons, also known as whippets or nossies. The cylinders have about eight grams of nitrous oxide in them that are sealed with a metal cap that can be inhaled for a euphoric effect, also used in kitchens to “charge” creams and gels. They’re made to be used with a cream siphon, which resembles a huge water bottle with a spout and a trigger. There’s probably a lot about this stuff that you don’t know that dentists, pastry chefs, and doofers alike. It is lawful to purchase nitrous, but it is illegal to utilize it to get high.

Nitrous oxide is a colorless gas used to induce drowsiness and pain relief and is mostly used as cream chargers for whipping cream. Because nitrous oxide is antibacterial, it can help keep the cream in the whipped cream dispenser fresher for a long time. Dentists and medical professionals routinely utilize it to sedate patients undergoing minor medical operations.

When used as a propellant for whipped cream, it is also a culinary additive, and it is utilized in the automobile industry to improve engine performance but is used by many as a recreational drug. It’s also becoming more popular as a treatment for those who are trying to quit drinking. Nitrous oxide is a dissociative anesthetic that causes dissociation of the consciousness from the body (a feeling of floating), altered perceptions, and, in rare circumstances, visual hallucinations.

Nitrous gas cartridges (bulbs or whippets) are often discharged into another item, such as a balloon, or directly into the mouth, and then inhaled.  For a brief amount of time, inhaling nitrous oxide causes a surge of exhilaration and a sensation of floating or excitement.

Only if the vendor suspects that the canisters will be used to get high it is criminal to sell them. However, they are mostly used for kitchen supplies. Small canisters of nitrous oxide gas designed for whipping cream, but being misused as a recreational drug in that case it’s illegal for people who are under 18.

Nangs are Helpful in Various Ways:

In a medical context, it’s commonly inhaled through a tiny mask that fits over your nose, mixed with oxygen. It’s typically used to help you relax during treatments that don’t require a general anesthetic, including delivery or minor dental surgery. It’s been used to assist those who are trying to quit drinking with mixed results.

Whipped cream is also made with nitrous oxide, which is sold in supermarkets for roughly $10 for a pack of ten canisters. Since the early 1800s, when British nobles conducted “laughter gas parties,” it has been used for recreational purposes. It became more popular as a recreational drug with the development of its use in medical settings in the late 1880s, and thus its availability.

Nangs, a term for small canisters of inhalation general anesthetic more often than not utilized in Australia and Melbourne, intended to make lotions frothy and long-lasting, also are referred to as whippets and its contents are referred to as N2O, or clearly guffawing gas, to the ones unaware with their leisure counterpart.

While nitrous oxide is on the WHO’s List of Essential Drugs, which lists the most effective and safe medicines to have in a health system, recreational usage is not always safe. There are several potential dangers that you should be aware of in order to ensure that you are taking care of yourself when partying.

Euphoria, a feeling of floating, and heightened consciousness have been recorded as good effects of nangs. Nausea, vomiting, disorientation, and a shortage of oxygen to the brain are some of the unpleasant effects. While inebriated, some people produce unusual sounds and gestures.

What Do Nangs Do?

Nitrous oxide cream chargers are nitrous oxide cylinders used to whip cream. Cream chargers also called Nangs in Melbourne, Australia, are a type of charger. Nangs can even be ordered online and delivered to your doorsteps even after business hours. These are very helpful for cafes, bars, pubs, and coffee houses that operate after hours and run out of whipped cream but still wish to provide whipped cream goods.

These small steel canisters (typically nickel plated to prevent rust) are used to feed nitrous oxide into the whipped cream dispenser. The most common size of a cream charger is an 8-gram bulb. A 0.5 liter whipped cream dispenser can be charged with one 8 gram nitrous oxide bulb.

Nitrous oxide is an inhaled gas that reduces anxiety and aids relaxation in patients. It also has analgesic properties, which means it can help with pain relief. Up to 80% of youngsters who are administered nitrous oxide will develop momentary amnesia, which means they will have no recollection of what happened while they were breathing the gas. Nitrous oxide is also known by other names, including as “laughing gas” or “happy gas”. Because nitrous oxide is cold and can burn the cheeks and lips, it is carried in a balloon. An effect lasts around one minute and takes about one minute to experience.

It shouldn’t be used in dangerous settings because of the effects on coordination and dizziness, and it’s best to have someone around who isn’t using it.

Without the addition of oxygen, it can cause blood pressure drops, fainting, and even death due to hypoxia (oxygen deficiency).

After that, the person can take the nitrous for the euphoria that lasts for anywhere between 30 seconds to a minute. Some people prefer large balloons that can contain two to three nangs and then breathe in and out repeatedly, claiming that the exhalation improves the sensation.

Is Whipped Cream a Healthy Food?

The cream has a high-fat content and is high in calories. Because cream contains a lot of fat, eating a lot of it can be bad. As a result, the cream should be used sparingly. Because the cream is thicker, whipping it makes it less dense (as it contains gas). This can assist some people to limit their portion consumption of cream. In this sense, whipping cream may be preferable to unwhipped cream if it aids in portion control. Whipping cream with nitrous oxide can increase its volume by up to four times its weight. Regular hand whipping of cream, which is normally 2 to 3 times the volume of unwhipped cream, can yield a higher volume to weight ratio.

Are Nangs Bad for You?

In a word, no, nangs are not illegal but they can be bad for you if not used in the right way as they are also used for drugs. While nitrous gas is commonly used as whippets in whipped cream siphons and safely in dental procedures and other settings, it does have drawbacks, and incorrect use can have harmful consequences.

Nitrous oxide produces a brief (20 seconds) high that induces feelings of exhilaration and relaxation in those who take it. It can whip cream because it dissolves in fat under high pressure in the whipped cream dispenser (cream must have fat to be whipped) and expands to whip the cream when nitrous oxide is released into normal air pressure.

Because of the disorientation, alienation, and temporary loss of motor control that make nangs appealing to drug abusers in the first place, inhaling them while standing up is risky. Nitrous oxide can be addictive due to its short-term effects. Most of the users of illusory nang describe it as “moreish”, while they predict that they will keep using it more frequently with the passage of time.

Although the product is not dangerous itself, consuming it for a long period is linked to vitamin B12 deficiency. B12 is required by the human body to maintain healthy red blood cells, and a deficiency can cause anemia, neuropathy, tinnitus, and numbness in the fingers and toes. It is also strongly advised that pregnant women avoid using nitrous oxide because it is both teratogenic and carcinogenic and fetotoxic.

The gas is extremely cold (-40C degrees) when inhaled straight from tanks or whippets (bulbs) and can cause frostbite to the nose, lips, and throat (including vocal cords). 5,10 When inhaled directly from these containers, the gas can induce lung tissue ruptures due to the continual pressure. The nitrous oxide is released into a balloon, which helps to warm the gas and normalize the pressure before inhaling.

People can also cause harm to themselves by using malfunctioning gas dispensers, which can explode. Besides, waiving various canisters of nitrous oxide gas with a sole cracker can result in cold burns of the hands. It is feasible to minimize the dangers connected with nitrous oxide use by not:

  • putting it on its own or in unsafe or secluded locations
  • sprayings near flammable things, such as exposed flames or cigarettes
  • with plastic bags over the head or in any other manner inhibiting breathing
  • consuming alcoholic beverages or using other medications
  • While inhaling, avoid standing or dancing because the user may pass out.

The effects that follow can be felt nearly immediately and can persist for a few minutes.

  • euphoria
  • sedation
  • giddiness
  • numbness of the body
  • Uncontrollable
  • laughing and jerky movements
  • Confusion due to obscured vision
  • light-headedness and/or dizziness
  • perspiration

Canisters of Nitrous Oxide Cream are Safe to Use in Food:



You can use high-quality cream canisters from a reliable brand in your food. Cream chargers are made of pure food-grade nitrous oxide and are specifically suited for use in food.

The law maintaining authorities find it difficult to trace the usage of nitrous oxide gas as a narcotic because it is also a food-grade substance used in kitchens and bakeries. It is almost impossible to symbolize them as anything else than a food product in U.K and U.S. Certain sections of the United States also limit their sale to adults and set limitations on how many a customer can buy in a single transaction, though it is the extent of the restriction.

In Australia, the purchase of nangs is allowed, and a bundle of ten costs around AUD$10. As their popularity increases, more and more places have become stockists, Nangs are now readily available online and just about every corner store and late-night 7-Eleven. Best Nangs also provide immediate cream charger nangs delivery service in Melbourne metro suburbs. Also, there are late-night Nang delivery businesses that supply 24/7 around-the-clock delivery in major cities, with one claiming to be “for all your baking needs.”