NO LAUGHING MATTER: Ibiza plans crackdown on inhaling happy gas in public

A RESORT on the Spanish party holiday island of Ibiza is planning to introduce fines for anyone found consuming laughing gas in public.
Canisters of the nitrous oxide gas are widely available in the beach resort of San Antonio and can lead to deaths but, at present, officials can only take action if they catch someone selling them.
But now there are plans to introduce fines of up to €1,500 (£1,400) for anyone caught inhaling the gas in public.
A spokesperson for the San Antonio town hall said: “Councillors will propose a modification to an existing by-law which will ban the consumption of nitrous oxide in public.
“Under the current rules, local police can only act against those people they catch selling the substance in the street.
“Consumers cannot be punished because laughing gas is not considered to be an illegal substance or catalogued as a drug.”
Brits are reported to be the main buyers of the laughing gas, which is banned in the UK for human consumption.
Mallorca has already cracked down on the substance with a series of new measures which include a ban on streaking, balconing and the sale of laughing gas.
Holidaymakers caught breaking the rules will face fines of up to €3,000 (£2,700).
Nitrous oxide has significant medical uses, especially in surgery and dentistry, for its anaesthetic and pain-reducing effects.
Its name “laughing gas” is due to the euphoric effects upon inhaling it, a property that has led to its recreational use.