Bangkok police to crack down on vendors selling laughing-gas balloons

[kennedy]

The gas that TV members give me. is no laughing matter.

[rogerdee123]

Anyone besides me remember when there were Oxygen bars around in Bangkok ?

[newermonkey]

Why does it take 15 minutes to make a balloon? Should be a 1-2-3 ten second thing.

I am sure they meant to say 15 seconds, but as you say it should take no more that a few seconds, as you know the Thais don't know left from right up or down or north or south, its all a bit confusing to the poor things.

I think the police should try the gas for them selves as it might make them "lighten up" a bit! or perhaps they should be given helium gas mixed with the Nitrous Oxide. that would be funny, when they all start laughing like little girls, people would take them even less seriously.. "which is a good thing" as Jeremy Clarkson would say

[bigbamboo]

Why would anyone pay 100 baht to sound like David Beckham?

Me thinks you don't know the difference between Helium and Nitrous Oxide...

Ha ha!......... I didn't read that one right.

In fact, it never even occurred it could be anything else.

Nitrous Oxide in a balloon is just too crazy even for Thailand.

[Shuggy]

I wonder how many tourists haver been shaken down by the BIB for being in possesion of illegal Nitrous Oxide.

[khunPer]

Theese ballons seems to be sold all over in the amusement areas and at beach parties – also quite popular among Thais.
By the way, a friend of mine in Pattaya filled one of the ballons with air and shared it with people on the walking street – seemed to work just as well as the original stuff.
Hmm, placebo works.

(Attached photo: A beach party ballon-vendor.)

[webfact]

UPDATE:

Chonburi launches crackdown on laughing gas

CHONBURI, 26 August 2013 (NNT) - Chonburi provincial authorities are launching a crackdown on the use of laughing gas in the province after reports of its popularity among tourists.

Local police have been instructed to arrest operators who sell balloons containing nitrus oxide or laughing gas to entertainment venues. An arrest has recently been made in Pattaya in connection with the substance with the help of local pharmacists.

Laughing gas is commonly used for dental procedures as a form of anesthesia. Inhalation of pure nitrous oxide over a continued period would render a human hypoxic and can lead to death.

The Food and Drug Administration has earlier warned that the use of nitrous oxide as recreation drug also affects the central nervous system which includes the brain, brain stem and spinal cord after news that laughing gas had been sold in Bangkok’s Khaosarn Road to tourists.


-- NNT 2013-08-26

[MikeENZ]

100% you can get this in the supermarket. Its used to make whipped cream. One point, you need to read carefully. CO2 is also sold and that's got "death" written on it. When you buy out the entire shelf of their NO2 the easy answer is, "i'm making a cake... a big cake..."

At least that's what my friend used to say 555

NO2 will kill you dude - Thats Nitrogen Dioxide.

The position of the 2 makes a HUGE difference!

ANY Pressurized cylinder will have a warning that it can cause injury or death. Be it a fire extinguisher, Scuba tank, G sized cylinder or petrol tanker on a truck. They tend to go bang when pierced in the wrong place.

CO2 is dangerous because of the pressure its stored at (750 PSI usually) and if its pierced in the wrong place it goes bang. From memory - its been a while since I got my compressed gasses certificate... NOS has a lower storage pressure (and breathable air tends to be about 3000-4500 PSI - a bigger boom)

NOS is only dangerous if you consumed it and a) fall over or consume about 100 boxes a day and end up with Vitamin B12 deficiency..

Good fun but if it is not mixed with Oxygen and is near pure, you die from asphyxiation after breathing a bit too much of it.

This is what you get when you don't pay attention in chemistry class. You'll die from asphixiation from continually inhaling anything apart from the air we breath for too long. And not sure what you mean by near pure, but if you mean changing state from N20 to N02 (i.e. quadrupling the amount of oxygen in the molecule as opposed to just the N20 / O2 mix) then yeah, you'll die from Nitrox poisoning..

Edited August 26, 2013 by MikeENZ

[attento]

Breaking News . . . latest weapon in Police armoury . . . the NEEDLE

Edited August 26, 2013 by attento

[sirchai]

Guess some people had smoked these balloons. -

[ginjag]

Why would anyone pay 100 baht to sound like David Beckham?

Me thinks you don't know the difference between Helium and Nitrous Oxide...

I would pay even 1000 bht to look like Beckham

[Mosha]

Perhaps the customers are on the way to a dentists.

[Nooky2]

That is huge profit margins. Costs vendor 20 baht and the sell for 150 baht. Money before public health.

Public health? Why do medical professional use this gas? Because it's bad for your health?

[Nooky2]

Ok, I'm going against the grain here. Maybe it's unlawful to distribute laughing gas in a balloon. And it's over priced. So is everything else in Thailand for foreigners.

But what a great idea! People are happy and maybe laughing! That's a bad thing?

What laws prevail in Thailand? Only when someone (government) cannot make a profit. I say, HAVE SOME FUN!

Maybe it will help their bloated tourist estimates.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Nooky2

[Taco]

The cost is around 20 baht if they are using a whipped cream refill cartrage but only 2 baht per balloon when your refilling the tanks. Balloons are widespread at all the Phangan parties and the guys selling the balloons are making massive cash. It always cracks me up seeing the pile of backpacks that get stacked up on the empty tanks on the ferry over to Samui on the short trip over to get refilled. No police crackdown here as this is one the most favored locations in the country to be posted. Another supplumentary bribe income for officer friendly.

[Tchooptip]

Many times when I read Thai Visa I do not need any gas

[lungmi]

Cabinet sessions already use it. No?

I wait for stink bombs to dissolve red shirt activities.

[mikemac]

Surely they could just take a short cut and sidestep this laborious part by just connecting the tourist directly to the gas bottle.

Wish I had thought of that. With any luck the Khao San Road trash would all float away over the horizon !

Don't know why they need this stuff anyway, I have been here for eight years now and have not stopped laughing since I first arrived.

[mikemac]

Cabinet sessions already use it. No?

I wait for stink bombs to dissolve red shirt activities.

Sorry, but would not work. You would not even notice if a stink bomb went off in the midst of a redshirt "activity".

[Morakot]

cause severe symptoms for inhalers and some might even become unconscious if there is an overdose

Isn't that the desired effect?

[ozyjon]

Ha ha ha ha ha, please make me stop laughing before this thing kills me,, as it will,, eventually.

[ginjag]

Notice the familiar language. TO crackdown.

Why not HAVE cracked down.

The, to crackdown gives warning and time to offenders.

The, have is to show that it has been achieved, has now already happened.

All too many times does government give prior notice to safeguard anyone of importance that may be connected. Time to flee the scene.

[XINLOI]

100% you can get this in the supermarket. Its used to make whipped cream. One point, you need to read carefully. CO2 is also sold and that's got "death" written on it. When you buy out the entire shelf of their NO2 the easy answer is, "i'm making a cake... a big cake..."

At least that's what my friend used to say 555

You can also get it at the hot rod stores. It is used to help double the HP output of a gasoline engine. The most common place to find it here, is with the "drift racers". Gotta get some power out of those rice rockets with the help of turbos and superchargers........lol

[transam]

We use it in quick cars tooooooo. ........... but don't tell anyone eh, there is enough 2 and 4 wheel sh_t happening on the streets as it is.

[lee b]

[hawker9000]

CO2 is also sold and that's got "death" written on it.

You're confusing CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide) with CO (carbon monoxide), the latter being toxic the former not. CO₂ and N₂O are not toxic but both are asphyxiates and will cause the same problems, that is they displace oxygen in the body and can suffocate from them.

When you get nitrous oxide from the dentist, he's mixing it with oxygen, and I'm not sure he'll ever go above 30-40% N₂O, for many patients maybe not even that. Breathing just pure N₂O sounds like it could be dangerous.

[BruceSmith]

Lets see, did I get this right?

Somebody does not want the land of smiles to become the land of laughs - perhaps?!

[kimamey]

The vendors spend about 15 minutes to inflate each balloon.

Surely they could just take a short cut and sidestep this laborious part by just connecting the tourist directly to the gas bottle.

I notice these are only sold to tourists. If you want to make anyone who lives in Thailand laugh you can just get them to read this story and tell them how good the Thai police are.

[kimamey]

CO2 is also sold and that's got "death" written on it.

You're confusing CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide) with CO (carbon monoxide), the latter being toxic the former not. CO₂ and N₂O are not toxic but both are asphyxiates and will cause the same problems, that is they displace oxygen in the body and can suffocate from them.

When you get nitrous oxide from the dentist, he's mixing it with oxygen, and I'm not sure he'll ever go above 30-40% N₂O, for many patients maybe not even that. Breathing just pure N₂O sounds like it could be dangerous.

Pure nitrous oxide is OK for a short time but as said it will displace the oxygen so for longer periods it's mixed with oxygen. As far as I know the maximum concentration is 70% oxygen to 30% N₂O although it can often be lower than that. Te lower the concentration the longer it can be used.

[hawker9000]

The vendors spend about 15 minutes to inflate each balloon.

Surely they could just take a short cut and sidestep this laborious part by just connecting the tourist directly to the gas bottle.

I notice these are only sold to tourists. If you want to make anyone who lives in Thailand laugh you can just get them to read this story and tell them how good the Thai police are.

Why does it take 15mins to fill a single balloon, anyway? Cylinders weak by the time vendors get them?