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8th May 2024
08:25pm BST
An unnamed Premier League footballer has been diagnosed with a laughing gas addiction.
The Daily Mail reported that the emergency services were called after a friend of the footballer, who has played for his country at Under-21 level, spotted him surrounded by canisters of illegal nitrous oxide at his city centre flat.
It's reported that the player had returned to using the laughing gas after previously attending rehab.
Paramedics quickly arrived to the scene and issued a stern reminder to the footballer, who has allegedly made multiple attempts to kick the habit.
The player’s club are aware of the incident.
They have been offering extensive support for some time and were involved in the decision to send him to a specialist rehabilitation centre earlier this season.
Nitrous oxide, known as ‘hippy crack’, is stored inside canisters and are used to fill balloons which are inhaled to provide a quick ‘high’.
Risks of using it include heart attack, strokes and brain damage.
In November last year law was changed to make nitrous oxide a controlled Class C Drug. Possession for inhalation is now deemed a criminal offence.
There's also concerns that the usage of laughing gas is high among Premier League footballers and that routine drug tests performed after games are unlikely to pick it up.
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