Current regulations in context: Scraping Australia's online nitrous oxide market

Nitrous oxide is a gas which is often used in the production of whipped cream, but can also be inhaled as a recreational dissociative drug. Usage rates of recreational nitrous oxide appear to be increasing in Australia.

This study aims to characterise the online nitrous oxide marketplace in Australia to understand the efficacy of current legislation and inform future legislative changes.

Google Trends data were used to identify top search terms used to find sites selling nitrous oxide. Sites were then identified from these search terms in Google and Bing, which together hold over 98 % of Australia's search engine market. Each identified site was then screened and scraped for product and other relevant data using custom Python scripts.

A total of 93 websites were identified for inclusion, with the top 49 websites fully scraped for products. Overall, 997 products were identified, of which 696 (69.8 %) contained nitrous oxide. Relatively few sites verified the age of users, and many sites provided potentially dangerous bulk pricing incentives. Flavourings were commonly added to nitrous oxide products, potentially attracting younger audiences.

These data indicate that legislative change is desperately needed in Australia to minimise the availability of rapidly delivered online-derived nitrous oxide. Legislative bodies should consider a range of supply and demand-based regulations to minimise the well understood personal and societal harms related to nitrous oxide use.