If you follow celebrity news, you may have heard allegations related to Kanye West and nitrous oxide. Find out more about the rapper and his potential tie to nitrous below. Whether Kanye is dealing with a nitrous oxide addiction or not, whippet abuse is a serious topic that’s been undermined by viral TikTok memes.
What Are the Allegations Surrounding Kanye and Nitrous Oxide?
Ye, formerly Kanye West, is at the center of a scandal involving allegations that a dentist supplied the rapper with nitrous oxide for recreational use. The allegations were made by Milo Yiannopoulos, the former chief-of-staff for the rapper’s campaign for president.
Yiannopoulos claims that Dr. Thomas Connelly, the dentist who provided West with titanium teeth, was charging the rapper $50,000 a month to cover an ongoing supply of nitrous oxide. The former campaign manager claims that Kanye struggles with nitrous oxide addiction and that Connelly took advantage of that to make money. He has shared images on social media that he says are texts between Connelly and West that prove these claims. Yiannopoulos has also claimed the dentist has done this with other Black celebrities, but spokespeople for the Connolly defense claim Yiannopoulos made up the story for attention.
According to social media posts made by Yiannopoulos, he’s filed a complaint with the California Dental Board against Dr. Connelly. He also notes that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have launched or intend to launch an investigation into the matter.
Celebrity Access to Controlled Substances: An Ongoing Struggle
While it’s not yet known how legitimate the allegations regarding Kanye and nitrous oxide abuse are, it would certainly not be the first time a celebrity had a dangerous level of access to controlled substances.
The tragic death of Friend’s star Matthew Perry involves multiple doctors and others in an underground ketamine sales ring. Five people were charged with drug distribution that led to the actor’s death. Other well-known celebrity deaths, dating back decades, have been tied to abuse of prescription drugs. Hank Williams reportedly abused opioids, and Marilyn Monroe’s mysterious death is believed to be related to an overdose of barbiturates and other drugs.
In many cases, celebrities are at increased risk for dangerous abuse of controlled substances. They may deal with the stress of being in the public eye and performing up to some imagined standard they find impossible to meet. At the same time, they often have connections and enough disposable income to gain access to these substances.
What to Know About Nitrous Oxide Abuse
You don’t have to be a rapper with tens of thousands of dollars to spare to abuse nitrous oxide. You don’t even need a dentist willing to supply the substance. Unfortunately, many young people engage in whippet abuse, and they may not realize how dangerous it is.
Whippet Abuse Among Young People
People have abused nitrous oxide by huffing it from spray cans for many years, and in 2022, more than 70 million people had used an illicit drug of some type within the past year, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. However, a recent viral sensation on TikTok has popularized whippet abuse. The fad reportedly began when a person took a video of himself huffing nitrous oxide from a canister of Galaxy Gas — a brand of flavored whipped cream.
The video, which included the man showing that the nitrous made his voice super-deep, went viral. It also spurred a rash of copycat videos, with others abusing whippets via Galaxy Gas or similar products. The viral activity caused a number of responses, including from the company that makes Galaxy Gas. It released a statement noting that its products were intended only for culinary use and now requires people to agree to a disclosure on its website before they can scroll through products.
The Dangers of Nitrous Abuse
While nitrous oxide isn’t as physically addicting as some other substances, such as heroin, the Cleveland Clinic notes that it can be psychologically addicting. You can become caught up in a continuous chase for the next high from whippets, leading to long-term use. That’s especially true because the high that comes from nitrous oxide abuse is fleeting, and people may abuse whippets repeatedly in a short timeframe.
This can lead to both short-term and long-term dangers. When you take in nitrous oxide, you decrease the amount of oxygen available to your body. An extreme amount of use over a short period of time can result in suffocation.
More common, however, are long-term dangers, such as:
- Muscle atrophy caused by a dramatic B12 deficiency
- Spinal cord damage, which might also be caused by B12 deficiency
- Organ damage, particularly to the kidney and liver
- Neurological deficits, which may be irreversible
- Seizures and other cognitive issues
- Irregular heartbeat and related issues with the cardiovascular system
- Hallucinations and other mental health symptoms
Immediate symptoms associated with whippet abuse can include nausea, headaches, moodiness, dizziness and loss of consciousness. As with any substance abuse, a drive to get more nitrous oxide can lead a person to make risky decisions or get themselves in legal trouble. It can also impede a person’s ability to meet social, work or school obligations, creating risks for their future.
How to Seek Treatment for Nitrous Oxide Addiction
If you or someone you love is dealing with a nitrous oxide addiction or engaging in whippet abuse, it’s definitely not an entertaining topic to land you more TikTok views. Getting professional help for addiction or substance abuse of any kind can help stop a cycle of addiction from deepening.
When you see stories in the news about celebrities, you may think you aren’t like them. You may not be spending $50,000 a month on a whippet addiction, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t walking a line that’s impacting your health and life negatively. Or you might see videos on TikTok or other social media platforms of people inhaling whippets, so you think your whippet abuse isn’t a big deal. The problem is that you don’t see the entire story in that 30-second clip — you can’t see what happens to that person months from now if whippet abuse has hurt their health.
If you want to step away from whippet abuse, get help today by contacting FHE Health.
