Nadine Grosdidier lost her 19-year-old son, Yohan, to a fatal heart attack after he inhaled nitrous oxide—commonly known as "laughing gas." Drawing from her personal tragedy, Nadine now campaigns tirelessly to educate parents and youth about its deadly risks. "So that such a tragedy does not happen again," she says.
A dangerous trend has surged recently: recreational inhalation of nitrous oxide. These cartridges, dubbed "laughing gas" or "proto," deliver brief euphoria but are increasingly discarded in streets and parks.
Health authorities have long flagged its harms, as detailed in a June 2020 report by France's National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES). Far from harmless fun, laughing gas poses severe health threats—even death—despite its trivialization among young people.
Yohan Grosdidier, 19, died from cardiac arrest after inhaling it in 2018. His mother, Nadine, urges parents and officials to act and prevent further losses.
Marie Claire: What happened on the evening of May 5, 2018?
Nadine Grosdidier: "My husband and I had just arrived in Spain for vacation when the gendarmerie called: our son Yohan had suffered a cardiac arrest and died. No further details at first. We rushed back, minds racing with questions. He was only 19—why?"
Video of the day:The next day at the gendarmerie, officers showed us a balloon and a can of keyboard cleaner. 'Is this yours?' they asked. We said no. Then they explained: Yohan had inhaled it and collapsed. We were devastated—we'd never even heard of it!
That night, Yohan had friends over. They said he inhaled the gas twice, 30 minutes apart, then fell. It was potent—a nitrous oxide derivative with propane and butane. Friends gave first aid; firefighters and SAMU performed CPR for 1.5 hours. Despite his youth, his heart never restarted.
We later learned he'd used it weekends for three months, inspired by YouTube tutorials and the 'laughing gas' name. Nothing hinted at it—no paraphernalia in his room, and he was in perfect health.
How prevalent is this in France?
"Three deaths recorded so far, but data is scarce. I know a grandmother whose granddaughter needed detox, and a man hospitalized with quadriplegia."
You founded Association Yohan—what's your mission?
"As parents who 'didn't know,' we had to warn others. I'd have alerted Yohan if aware—it's been around since 1998 with disco balloons, yet dangers are under-discussed. I'm engaging government; Valérie Létard's bill passed the Senate in 2019 and was adopted by Parliament on May 25, 2021, banning sales to minors (Ed)."
How are you coping?
"Balancing alerts and grief is tough, but Yohan—serious, anti-drugs, always with a sober driver ('Sam')—wouldn't want me to stop. 'Laughing gas' lured him; at 19, invincibility reigns. Why us? I don't know."
*Association Yohan
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