"How a Laughing Gas Ban Endangered Kids: A Mother's Heartbreaking Story of Losing Natasha to Dangerous Underground Sites"

WHEN Rachel Jarvis heard emergency sirens as she tossed and turned in bed waiting for her daughter to come home she felt a terrible sense of dread.

Two hours later police officers delivered the tragic news that her eldest daughter Natasha Woroch, 25, had been killed by her boyfriend in a car smash – after he inhaled laughing gas.

Natasha Woroch died in a car crash after her boyfriend inhaled laughing gas at the wheelCredit: Supplied Natasha’s mum, Rachel Jarvis, hoped the use of the drug would ‘fizzle out’Credit: Supplied Rachel Jarvis is now calling for a ban on bright packing used to sell nitrous oxideCredit: Supplied Connor Malpass has been jailed after causing death by dangerous drivingCredit: BPM

Connor Malpass was jailed for 13 years after he emerged from the wreckage high, with a balloon hanging from his mouth. He had been driving up to speeds of 80mph in a 30 zone.

Rachel’s daughter was killed just four months before a Government ban on using ‘’ canisters for drug use.

But The Sun can today reveal that the new laws – introduced two years ago this week – have done little to solve the problem.

One expert told us: “Addicts are at greater risk than ever before.”

The new regulations have seen a dip in the use of small capsules of nitrous oxide – street name ‘whippets – in favour of giant cans being sold online for catering use.

The canisters are packaged in bright colours with trendy flavours which critics say make them even more attractive to teenagers.

We found one Peterborough-based firm selling a brand called Baking Bad – a play on the name of TV drama , which sees a chemistry teacher turned into a crystal meth dealer.

Rachel, who lost daughter Natasha in July 2003, said: “I had hoped that a ban would see the whole craze fizzle out but I see just as many empty gas bottles lying around parks.

“It’s a horrible reminder of what happened to Natasha.

“Making nitrous oxide illegal has pushed its use underground. Charities who have carried out various surveys say they think use is going down but nobody is going to admit they are taking it when it’s now illegal.”

The drug can result in a lack of oxygen to the brain, leading to unconsciousness and even death.

Many young Brits have landed up in hospital while others have been left disabled and confined to wheelchairs due to nerve damage.

Just last month, 20-year-old of Bolton, , died days after filming a warning about the dangers of nitrous oxide balloons as she travelled in the back of an ambulance.

Amy told friends how misusing the drug had landed her in hospital, posting it could “starve your brain of oxygen, lead to long-term nerve damage with repeated use and put serious strain on your heart and lungs.”

She said her calves had been “mashed up” and she had a “failing” nervous system and struggled to walk, warning in her post: “Put your balloons down because you’ll only end up like me.”

Her mum Catrina Proctor told the her daughter became seriously ill and died in hospital just a few days after her post. Great Manchester Police have referred her death to the coroner.

Amy Leonard, pictured with her young nephew, died days after warning people about nosCredit: SWNS The 20-year-old passed away on October 2 surrounded by her loved onesCredit: MEN Media

Hippy crack, also known as Nos, is taken by releasing nitrous gas from canisters into a balloon and inhaling.

The latest Government rules, which classify the gas as a Class C drug, have banned its use for anything other than legitimate purposes, which include medical, dental and catering use.

But the move has only made a small dent in the problem. It also resulted in less small ‘single dose’ canisters coming on to the market – replaced by bigger cans which fill as many as 80 balloons.

Office of National Statistics figures show that the number of 16 to 59-year-olds using balloons dropped, from 0.9 percent in the year ending March 2024 compared to 1.3 percent the previous year.

New wave of hippy crack

Drug expert Dr Ian Hamilton, a professor of addiction at the University of York, believes cops have problems policing the new rules.

Bakingbadinfusions contain a capacity of 2.2L / 1364g of premium culinary gasCredit: BakingBad These cylinders are used to prepare a wide array of drinks, cocktails, and dishesCredit: BakingBad The bright, engaging packaging has captured various consumer audiencesCredit: BakingBad

He said: “The law is difficult to enforce because nitrous oxide is still available for other uses, including catering purposes.

“I don’t know how a police officer would prove that someone had bought it for recreational use unless they found a teenager in the act of inhaling it.

“Most drug laws are blunt but this one is very blancmonge-y. The answer would perhaps be to get catering firms to hold certificates but it creates a lot of paperwork and regulation for business at a time when businesses are struggling.”

Dr Hamilton said larger canisters are being marked in fluorescent colours with catchy names to attract teenagers.

He said: “They are using techniques straight out of the playbook of alcopops and vapes.

“Manufactuerers know who their audience is and how to package their products in that way.

“These larger canisters really worry me because people are taking dose after dose. At the least, they impair your decision-making ability and impact your judgement.

“If you’ve got access to the equivalent of, say, 30 or 40 whippets (small cans) and you don’t have to take a break to get a single dose, that’s dangerous.

“The ban doesn’t seem to have decreased the risk but increased it. We can’t really know how many people are using it because less will admit to it now that it’s illegal, but the danger has increased with bigger cans.”

Addicts are at greater risk than ever before

An expert

Peterborough-based firm Bakingbadinfusions is among online companies selling brightly-coloured canisters to catering companies, who use it as a whipping agent in cream.

It flogs cans of ‘Miami Magic’ rainbow for £70.99 as well as canisters called ‘baking bad’ in strawberry guava and lemon flavours alongside other products.

A company spokesperson told us: “Our products are marketed towards culinary and beverage enthusiasts.

“Bright, engaging colours are a standard branding and marketing practice — they reflect the creative and enjoyable nature of activities such as making whipped cream and cocktail infusions.

“While we acknowledge that, on rare occasions, products can fall into the wrong hands, we take every reasonable step to prevent this.”

Double trouble

Police and border cops made 2,564 seizures of laughing gas in England and Wales in the 12 months ending March 2024.

In August this year, an organised crime gang was jailed for importing 91million canisters into Britain via fake catering companies.

Thomas Richardson has been jailed for five years and eight monthsCredit: SWNS Benjamin Richardson has been jailed for six years and two monthsCredit: SWNS The twins were caught importing millions of cannisters of nitrous oxide illegallyCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk

, 38, of Barlby, North Yorks, and Carl Messen, 58, of Doncaster, made £16.7million after creating bogus food firms to give their illegal activities bogus legitimacy.

Thomas Richardson, who was jailed six years and two months, even posed in front of bundles of cash.

His brother was given a five year, eight month sentence and Messen caged for three years and two months.

Grieving Rachel Jarvis is now calling for a ban on bright packing used to sell nitrous oxide.

She said: “Warnings also need to appear on the canister and I believe the buyer should have to prove they are from a catering company. In Sweden, they have stopped the sale of large canisters as they provide cheaper ‘doses’”

The mum-of-four, of Belton, near Scunthorpe, North Lincs, has been left devastated by daughter Natasha’s death which saw boyfriend Malpass, 25, initially jailed for 10 years and six months in August last year.

Natasha’s boyfriend had taken the drugCredit: Supplied Natasha Woroch was pronounced dead at the scene in 2023Credit: Supplied Rachel Jarvis’ daughter hoped to be a digital banking managerCredit: Supplied

Two months later, Malpass, of Doncaster, had his sentence increased by another three years after the solicitor general argued the sentence was ‘unduly lenient’ at the Court of Appeal.

The London court heard that before the smash, in which two passengers were also injured, Malpass deactivated the car safety feature which applied the brakes if a wheel slip was detected.

When cops arrived on the scene they found Malpass hunting for a rose gold coloured Rolex he had bought for Natasha. It was later discovered on nearby grass.

I’ll never forget the night I was told Natasha had died

Rachel Jarvis

Rachel said: “I’ll never forget the night I was told Natasha had died.

“It was really hot and I was tossing and turning in bed and waiting for her to come home from a trip to Sheffield.

“I heard sirens just after one am and got this terrible feeling of dread in my stomach. About 3.30am two police officers knocked on the door and told me she was gone.

“I knew Malpass was a bit of a bad boy but Natasha knew him from school and she was 25 so what could I do?

“People had told me he was a bad driver because he used to speed off and changed his cars all the time, but Natasha assured me he didn’t drive like that with her in the car because she hated it. He obviously did.

“Natasha was training to be a digital banking manager and had her whole life ahead of her. She was absolutely beautiful and could have had her pick of men. It’s just so, so sad and just didn’t have to happen.”

‘I woke up and couldn’t walk’

Brits who inhale laughing gas have been left with serious problems, including disability and mental illness.

Kerry-Anne Donaldson was left wheel-chair bound after ‘abusing’ nitrous oxide’Credit: SWNS Those caught with nitrous oxide with the intent of getting high will be prosecuted as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviourCredit: Getty

Campaigner now relies on a wheelchair after inhaling as many as 60 ‘whippets’ a week at the height of her addiction.

The 26-year-old, of east London, told The Sun last year: “The ban has just made people a bit more discreet and hide their use more.

“I haven’t heard of anyone being arrested and I think it being illegal has made it even more popular.

“It’s very addictive. When you start you get a 10 second buzz and the more you do, the harder it is to feel that way – so you keep chasing the same high.

“I started when I was 18 years old because I didn’t know the harm of it. I thought it was a little buzz and a bit of fun.

“Then, one morning, I woke up to find I couldn’t use my arms and I couldn’t walk.

“My older sister took me to hospital and they told me I had a B12 deficiency, a nitrous oxide overdose and nerve damage.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “This is a tragic case and our thoughts are with Natasha’s family and friends.

“To help protect young people and save lives, it is an offence for a person to possess nitrous oxide for the purposes of inhaling with offenders facing up to two years behind bars.”