Youths warned off sniffing `deadly` new legal high

London: Experts are warning that the new Ethyl Chloride spray that is meant to be sprayed on the skin ahead of minor surgery or to soothe sports injuries could be deadly as growing numbers of kids have been sniffing it to get high.

One user in his late 20s, who did not wish to be named, said that it makes him feel relaxed, while another anonymous user told of a near miss with the drug, which is on sale for 24 pounds online, recalling that a friend who used it one night ended up passing out.

Some drug users predict that the substance, which they have nicknamed "Ethel" or "Sniff," could soon become a replacement for so-called "hippy crack".

New rules are set to block UK websites selling laughing gas for recreational use, forcing users to find another high.

Legal highs expert Paul Skett, a pharmacologist at Glasgow University, said that Ethyl Chloride, which is very similar to the effect you get from a solvent, actually acts as an anesthetic and sniffing a lot of it can make people go unconscious.