Doctors are increasingly seeing patients who need to be treated for their nitrous oxide addiction. Nitrous oxide is more addictive than previously thought, they warn. Research institute Trimbos is calling for more research, RTL Nieuws reports.
Until now, doctors and researchers thought that laughing gas could not be addictive because the effect is so short. The opposite appears to be true, says Jelmer Weijs on behalf of the Association of Addiction Medicine Netherlands (VVGN) and addiction doctor at Jellinek. “We now see that it is not just a mental addiction, but that it can indeed be a physical addiction.”
For this drug, doctors see the criteria associated with addiction, such as ‘craving’, needing more for the same effect, and withdrawal symptoms when you quit. “Your body does become dependent on it. It’s more addictive than we thought.”
By: ANP
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