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The proposal of the Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva to ban the sale of paradise gas, including online, by minors, was today unanimously accepted by the people's representatives.

On Tuesday, Prof. Kovacheva submitted the proposal, which was recognized and supplemented by deputies from GERB, including Desislava Atanasova, Radomir Cholakov, Denitsa Sacheva, Kostadin Angelov, yesterday the health committee voted on it. Today, on their last working day, the deputies finally approved the ban enshrined in the Health Act, and in the plenary hall.

We remind you that following reports and complaints from parents to the ombudsman, about the systematic use of paradise gas in discotheques and clubs, which, according to leading pediatricians, is extremely dangerous when combined with alcohol or drugs, Prof. Kovacheva was the first to signal the problem endangering children's health . On Monday, she sent recommendations to the outgoing Minister of Health, Prof. Asena Serbezova, to the Chairman of the Health Committee in the Parliament, Dr. Anton Tonev, and to the Consumer Protection Commission, urging urgent measures against the free sale and use of paradise gas by minors , which according to experts is equivalent to a light drug.

A day later, the ombudsman introduced a legislative change in parliament, which was recognized and supplemented by deputies from GERB/SDS and voted yesterday in the parliamentary health committee.

Today, with 162 "yes" votes, the people's representatives adopted the amendment, which will ban the mass distribution and use by children of nitrous oxide, also known as "paradise gas".

The problem with paradise gas is that it creates an unrealistic view of reality, and after its use there are real risks to performing daily routine actions, such as walking or climbing stairs. People who have used it are dangerous not only for themselves, but also for those around them, because they hallucinate, fall into psychosis, even to the point of suicide. Data were collected on the state of severe vertigo, nausea and vomiting. Paradise gas in children affects the immune system and can lead to an acute lack of oxygen to the organs.

Diana Kovacheva warns that there are cases of numbness and partial paralysis of the limbs, as well as data on those diagnosed with axonal polyneuropathy and degeneration of the spine.

"This is a serious problem that needs to be solved at the legislative level. There are already a number of countries that have recognized the risks of using shale gas and have taken action to restrict its sale. Ireland has criminalized the sale of kerosene to under-18s, and the Danish government already in 2020, after a number of disturbing incidents, took a package of measures to limit the sale of nitrous oxide to minors. From June 2021, the sale of nitrous oxide to minors is prohibited in France, regardless of the packaging, in all shops, public places and on the Internet," wrote the ombudsman in his reasons for the legislative change.

In addition to urgent legislative measures, Diana Kovacheva also insisted on the deployment of a broad information campaign to include educational institutions, parent and patient organizations, the media and doctors to explain the dangers of using nitrous oxide.