New York Laws
Title 7 - Offenses, Violations and Enforcement
3380 - Inhalation of Certain Toxic Vapors or Fumes, and Certain Hazardous Inhalants; Sale of Glue and Hazardous Inhalants in Certain Cases.

(b) As used in this section hazardous inhalants shall mean and include
any of the preparations of compounds containing one or more of the
chemical compounds; amyl nitrite, isoamyl nitrite, butyl nitrite,
isobutyl nitrite, pentyl nitrite or any other akyl nitrite compound that
is either designed to be used, or commonly used, as an inhalant.
2. No person shall, for the purpose of causing a condition of
intoxication, inebriation, excitement, stupefaction, or the dulling of
his brain or nervous system, intentionally smell or inhale the fumes
from any hazardous inhalants or from any glue containing a solvent
having the property of releasing toxic vapors or fumes; provided, that
nothing in this section shall be interpreted as applying to the
inhalation of any anesthesia or inhalant for medical or dental purposes.
3. No person shall, for the purpose of violating subdivision two, use,
or possess for the purpose of so using, any hazardous inhalants or any
glue containing a solvent having the property of releasing toxic vapors
or fumes.
4. No person shall sell, or offer to sell, to any other person any
tube or other container of any hazardous inhalants or glue containing a
solvent having the property of releasing toxic vapors or fumes:
(a) if he has knowledge that the product sold, or offered for sale,
will be used for the purpose set forth in subdivision two of this
section; or
(b) unless there has been added to such glue a sufficient quantity of
an additive, approved by the commission, which shall act as a deterrent
to inhalation, and not be harmful or toxic to the human body. This
provision shall not apply to hazardous inhalants or glue manufactured
and sold for industrial use.
5. (a) No person shall use nitrous oxide for purposes of causing
intoxication, inebriation, excitement, stupefaction or the dulling of
the brain or nervous system of himself or another.
(b) No person shall sell any canister or other container of nitrous
oxide unless granted an exemption pursuant to this subdivision. In no
event shall any canister or other container of nitrous oxide be sold to
a person under the age of twenty-one years.
(c) This subdivision shall not apply to the use of nitrous oxide in
industrial, medical or dental applications, or to specific products
which must use nitrous oxide as a propellant provided such products
shall in no event be sold at retail to the public, as shall be
determined by the commissioner pursuant to paragraph (d) of this
subdivision.
(d) The commissioner is directed to promulgate regulations to exempt
specific products which must use nitrous oxide, or a mixture of nitrous
oxide with other gases, as a propellant from the provisions of this
chapter provided such regulations shall prohibit the sale of such
products at retail to the public.
(e) The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to prohibit the
sale of food products containing nitrous oxide provided such products

comply with the provisions of section sixteen-a of the agriculture and
markets law.
(f) The commissioner may, upon the application of a manufacturer or
seller of a product containing nitrous oxide and intended for sale at
retail, authorize the sale of such a product if there is no evidence of
substantial misuse of the product as defined by this subdivision and if
the manufacturer or seller takes the following steps to:
(i) clearly indicate the legitimate purpose or use of the product on
the package;
(ii) display prominently on the package in heavy type print language
which warns of health dangers resulting from the misuse of nitrous
oxide;
(iii) demonstrate that the product bears a distinctive feature or
features enabling it to be clearly distinguished from the nitrous oxide
products of other manufacturers;
(iv) educate wholesale and retail businesses which sell the product of
the dangers of nitrous oxide and the need to monitor its sale; and
(v) prevent their sale of the product to any person, firm or
corporation who or which sells drug-related paraphernalia as such term
is defined by subdivision two of section eight hundred fifty of the
general business law.
6. (a) Any person who violates any provision of subdivision two or
three of this section shall be guilty of an offense and upon conviction
thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more than fifty dollars or by
imprisonment for not more than five days, or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
(b) Any person who violates any provision of subdivision four or five
of this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.