Drugs & Alcohol
- Alcohol – booze, bevy, tipple
- Amphetamine – speed, phet, Billy, Whizz
- Amyl Nitrate – Poppers
- Cannabis – bud, bush, draw, grass, resin, skunk
- Cocaine
- Counselling
- Crack – rock, pebbles, stones
- Ecstasy – E, pills, little fella’s, XTC
- GHB – liquid X, liquid E, GBH
- Glues, Gases and Aerosols – solvents
- Heroin – brown, H, skag, horse, gear, smack
- Ketamine – special K, super K, vitamin K
- LSD – trips, acid, tabs, dots, microdots
- Mephedrone – bubble and meow
- Tobacco – cigs, fags, rollies
Amyl Nitrate – Poppers
What is it?
Amyl Nitrate is a liquid chemical, normally sold in small bottles with a screw cap. Poppers are commonly sniffed straight from the bottle, but some people dip cigarettes into the liquid and inhale the smoke from the cigarette.
What are the effects?
Amyl Nitrates have a stimulant effect by dilating the blood vessels allowing more blood to get to the heart. Sniffing poppers give an immediate head rush that lasts a couple of minutes. When the initial high has worn off then people can feel faint, sick and dizzy. It can also cause very painful headaches.
What are the risks?
Amyl Nitrates are not addictive, but they are very toxic and can be fatal if swallowed. The liquid will also burn the skin if it comes into contact with it. The liquid is very flammable and lighting cigarettes dipped in it can be extremely dangerous.
The law
Amyl Nitrates are controlled under the Medicines Act. Possession is not an offence but supply can be illegal, which is why shops regularly sell poppers as room aromas or deodorisers.
The hub is Blackpool's Young Persons Substance Misuse Service, offering information and advice to young people, under the age of 19 years, around substance misuse, including alcohol, tobacco and solvents.
E-mail: thehub@blackpool.gov.uk Telephone: 01253476010