Not a controlled substance

A CNB spokesman said helium is not a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act or the Intoxicating Substances Act.

"The public, especially youths, are cautioned against experimenting with substances other than using the substances for their intended purposes," the spokesman said.

There have been several reported deaths as a result of inhaling helium from a tank.

An 18-year-old died in 2003 in Vancouver, Canada, after inhaling helium from the tank he was using to blow up balloons for a toddler's birthday party.

A 48-year-old US software consultant died in North Carolina in 2002 after doing the same. In 2006 in the US, the bodies of two youths were found inside a deflated promotional balloon used to advertise condominiums.

They were believed to have died from inhaling helium inside the balloon.

This article was first published in The New Paper.

Students who go too far in the name of fun? :

	NTU students pull prank on bus driver An SBS bus driver was fooled into stopping for the students.
	Teens at gravesite just 'childish morons' Group of teens showed no respect for the dead at Choa Chu Kang cemetery. At least two of them were from a top junior college.
	Their misery = teen's fun Teen worked for a loanshark because he wanted to have some fun. The money was just secondary.
	Students, behave! Teens have been caught making out or misbehaving in public. Do teens realise the consequences of their actions?

<< Previous