THE HAGUE, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The recreational use of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, is rising in the Netherlands and causes more health issues, the Dutch poisons information center (NVIC) reported on Tuesday.

The NVIC is part of University Medical Center Utrecht and provides physicians and other health care professionals with information about potential health effects and treatment options when dealing with acute intoxications. On Tuesday the organization published its annual report 2018. One of the conclusions was the increase of health complaints after the use of laughing gas.

Initially, consultations of the NVIC only concerned recreational use of small amounts, with 13 exposures to laughing gas of people aged 13 and older in 2015, mainly concerning mild clinical symptoms. However, in 2016 this number rose to 23, in 2017 to 48 and in 2018 it increased to 54.

"This trend will continue in 2019 as well," the NVIC stated. "What is striking here is the recent increase in the number of reports about chronic use of laughing gas. Some of these users inhaled extreme amounts."

With the 54 exposures in 2018, laughing gas is in the top 10 of drugs with the highest exposures of people aged 13 and older in the Netherlands, according to the NVIC. Cocaine tops the list with 180 exposures.

Laughing gas is increasingly popular as a party drug and is freely available as it is part of the Dutch Commodities Act since July 2016. At entertainment venues and at parties and festivals, there are often large laughing gas tanks, from which hundreds of balloons or ampoules can be filled with laughing gas. These balloons and ampoules are sold for a few euros each.

"Although the legal status of laughing gas promotes a sense of security, the NVIC observes an increase in the number of reports about problematic use," the NVIC stated. "Most worrying are the huge quantities that are sometimes inhaled, chronically in some cases, and the concomitant serious health effects that can occur."

The Dutch users of laughing gas are mostly young adults up to 30 years of age, according to the report of the NVIC. They sought medical help in connection with health complaints. In particular nausea, headache and dizziness were reported, but also symptoms such as chest pain, visual disturbances, confusion and anxiety. Several patients suffered from tingling or numbness in the arms or legs.

In May this year, the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport got informed by the NVIC of the worrying figures on laughing gas. Therefore state secretary Paul Blokhuis asked the Coordination point Assessment and Monitoring New Drugs (CAM) to make a new risk analysis on laughing gas. This analysis is not finished yet.