Amyl nitrate

People sniff poppers, either straight from the bottle or from something absorbent like a cloth or the end of an unlit cigarette.

Sniffing poppers increases blood flow to the body giving some users:

• a head-rush that lasts for a couple of minutes
• a sense of euphoria
• increased sex drive and skin sensitivity

It can also leave you:

• feeling sick and faint
• uncoordinated
• with a nosebleed
• with a headache
• with chest pains

Because poppers increases blood flow and can relax the walls of the anus and vagina, some people take it while they’re having sex.

Some people say that poppers also makes their erections stronger, and their orgasms more intense. But for some men it’s the opposite, and they have trouble getting an erection after sniffing them.

How long the effects last and the drug stays in your system depends on how much you’ve taken, your size and what other drugs you may have also taken.

Although the high from poppers is over in a few minutes, you may feel dizzy or sick after taking them – and you may get a headache.

Mixing drugs is always risky but some mixtures are more dangerous than others.

There’s no evidence to suggest that poppers are physically or psychologically addictive.

But there is evidence to suggest that heavy users might develop a tolerance to the drug, and need to increase their use to get the same high.

• Poppers are legal to sell, but only as products not for human consumption. For this reason they are often sold as a ‘room odouriser’ and ‘leather cleaner’.

• They are regulated under the Medicines Act 1968 and there have been cases where the Medicines Act was used to fine shopkeepers for selling poppers. Poppers are also covered by general consumer protection legislation.

• Possession is not illegal but supply can be an offence.

• Poppers are not covered by the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016.