Are your teenagers trying nitrous oxide, aka laughing gas, this festival season? Here’s what you need to know.

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The Home Office estimates that in the last year half a million 16 to 24 year olds in England and Wales used nitrous oxide – otherwise known as laughing gas or ‘noz’, and the Royal College of Nursing are concerned that the dangers are poorly understood, particularly as we approach the music festival season. They say that legislation introduced three years ago this week, making it illegal to sell the gas for psychoactive purposes, has failed to tackle its usage, and in December last year, a former Chief Crown Prosecutor described it as ‘death in a box’. So just what is nitrous oxide, what are the dangers, and should parents be concerned? Jane is joined by Catherine Gamble, Royal College of Nursing Professional Lead for Mental Health Nursing.