“Laughing gas killed our son”

Tell us how your life changed on February 19, 2025…

Pascale Jouaron: The day started as usual. Luc, our son, came home from work after a night shift at the hospital. He was a caregiver and ambulance driver at the Mobile Emergency and Resuscitation Service (Smur). As is often the case, he started tinkering, going to the recycling center… He never stopped. The four of us then had lunch with my doctor husband and his intern. Then, I helped Luc fill out an administrative document, for the hospital. But I had to rush to a meeting. I am a veterinarian, retired of course, but active in around ten associations. I left the house around 3 p.m. without imagining what was going to happen.

What happens when you get home?

PJ: When I returned, two hours later, I went to see Luc to finish the paperwork. I found him in his room, lying on his bed, unconscious. I shook him, shook him, shook him… He wouldn’t wake up. The Samu arrived, my husband too. But there was nothing more to do. He was already dead. On the ground, there were two canisters of nitrous oxide and a balloon.

Is that what killed your son?

François Jouaron: Yes, nitrous oxide. He poured the gas into a balloon and then sucked it in through his mouth. The product caused a drop in oxygen to his brain. Feeling unwell, Luc fell on his back. He vomited and choked. He was alone, no one was able to put him in the side safety position.

PJ: When you realize that two cartridges can kill a healthy 23-year-old kid… It’s terrible.

Did you know about this substance before the tragedy?

FJ: Yes, nitrous oxide is initially used in hospitals. It is used in particular to relax children when they are afraid. If a dislocated shoulder needs to be put back in place, for example: the child is out of sorts for a few minutes, the procedure can be done easily. This is not the recreational “proto”, it is mixed with oxygen. Inhalation is done under close supervision.

PJ: This gas is also used in cooking, to make whipped cream. Simply insert a small metal cartridge into the siphon to create the foam. I was the one who bought these cartridges for a Christmas meal. They were stored next to the dishes, in a cupboard in the dining room. We find them everywhere, in the supermarket as well as in the appliance store. How could I have imagined that this poison would kill my son?

Did you understand what he was looking for that day when using this product?

P.J.: He didn’t want to kill himself. He was far from depressed and had many plans. He had just bought a house twenty minutes from us. But he felt very tired, he was chaining a lot of guards.

In your opinion, why is this product so attractive to young people?

FJ: This product is prized for its relaxing effects; it is nicknamed “laughing gas”. Once they have inhaled nitrous oxide, users begin to giggle and collapse with laughter. They see strange things around them. The effects only last a few minutes, so they are tempted to take it again and again.

As a doctor, what worries you most?

F.J.: In addition to reducing oxygenation of the brain and causing fatal discomfort, as for Luc, the consumption of laughing gas can end in heart attack or stroke in older people. Without forgetting the after-effects in the event of chronic use. The nerves are ruined for life. One day, a young person may wake up with a numb arm, a paralyzed leg…

Do you have the feeling that the phenomenon is getting worse?

F.J.: Many young people use this substance. Before Christmas 2025, three teenagers aged 14, 15 and 19 died drowned in a swimming pool (in Alès, in Gard, December 4, 2025, editor’s note). They had a car accident. Inside, there were canisters of protoxide. Three weeks ago, eleven medical students ended up in hospital after a drunken night out with laughing gas. In our streets, more and more cartridges are littering the sidewalks, near middle and high schools.

PJ: Young people take it especially at parties. Because people are having fun, they don’t think it’s dangerous. (According to Santé Publique France, 14% of young people aged 18 to 24 have already consumed it, apart from for medical use, editor’s note). I am preparing to carry out awareness-raising activities in schools to show those who might be tempted that the consequences can be dramatic. I am in touch with a mother who lost her daughter, the same age as Luc. She was hit by a young driver in Lille, he apparently consumed nitrous oxide.

The public authorities are taking up the subject. This February 26, the Senate will debate a bill aimed at prohibiting their sale to individuals. Would this be effective?

PJ: Yes, nitrous oxide would no longer be available in stores. People can do without it. By now, we should be able to find other solutions for making whipped cream. That would already be a big step. I have the impression that elected officials are aware of the seriousness of the problem. This would also raise awareness. As soon as a substance is regulated, or even banned, citizens ask themselves: but why? The French will thus be increasingly alerted to the dangers of this gas. In fact, if there are confiscations, I tell myself that at least these products will not be consumed. After all, sales have already been prohibited to under-18s since 2021.

Have you alerted your patients since then?

F.J: I put up a poster in the office waiting room “Hilarious? No. Deadly yes. » If my patients – parents and grandparents – become aware of the dangers, that is already progress. I don’t often examine adolescents and young people, they are not the sickest patients. But I hope I have the strength to ask them about it next time. Because you have to talk about it in consultation. In addition to asking whether patients smoke, drink or take drugs, the question about nitrous oxide consumption should be added. All healthcare professionals should do this. For the moment, I am not yet ready to be confronted with a young person who talks to me about it. But it will come. We live in a village of barely 900 inhabitants, our son’s tragedy has upset all the neighbors.

What memory comes up most often when people talk to you about him?

PJ: He was known to everyone since his birth! At the time, I was deputy mayor. I took it with me all the time. He slept during meetings. He touched everything: even turning off our computers while we were working. Our family is known in the village, I am the former mayor myself (from 2014 to 2020). Luc was always there to help out a neighbor or help them repair something. His death was a shock to everyone.

FJ: I even had to bring up nitrous oxide at his funeral, there were so many neighbors asking questions. This raised awareness in our village: at the supermarket, parents and grandparents told us that they were going to talk about it within their family.

PJ: As a caregiver, Luc saved people. It’s our turn, in his memory, to try to save some. That’s what keeps me attached to him.

What has kept you going since the death of your son?

F.J: Our pain is unbearable. I can’t get back to his room, except to go get our cat, his cat, who is hiding there. It’s his mark.

P.J: Fortunately, we are very well surrounded. And then we have two daughters, older than Luc. The second will also celebrate her 27th birthday at the end of the month, shortly after the first anniversary of her brother’s death. We must be there for them. We will be.