MINNEAPOLIS – Aerosol cans must be kept behind counters in Minnesota starting January 1, 2025.
It’s part of a new law that aims to prevent Minnesotans from snorting or inhaling the products to get high. The legislation also requires buyers to be 21 years or older and are limited to three at a time.
State Sen. Alice Mann, DFL-Edina, is the bill’s author. According to the State DFL Caucus, she was approached with the idea for the measure by the family of Tommy Byers, who died in 2022 from aerosol inhalation.
The products in the dusters, which are used to clean electronic products, contain difluoroethane, which causes a short high, according to the National Library of Medicine.
Mann worked on the measure with state Rep. Heather Edelson, DFL-Edina, and Byers’ mother, Katie O’Meara.
“I am grateful that after Tommy’s death, his family chose to work with me and Representative Edelson to enact this law so we can prevent other people from dying the same way,” Mann said in a written statement. .
Huffing, yes sniffing inhalants or chemicals found in many household productsaccording to Dr. Joseph Lee, medical director of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in Plymouth.
The chemicals deprive the body of oxygen and then force the heart to beat irregularly.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 1,115 deaths and 28,000 emergency room visits have involved aerosol inhalation.
