A popular brand of nitrous oxide sold in smoke shops and retailers throughout South Florida is dangerous and addictive and must be taken off the shelves before more people get hurt, a Broward County man claims in a new lawsuit.
Dominic DiSalvo, 30, of Dania Beach, abused Galaxy Gas recreationally for a cheap and potent high, according to the lawsuit filed Dec. 13 in state court in Broward, and the manufacturers and sellers are doing too little to discourage the abuse.
The product known as Galaxy Gas is manufactured by SBK International, an Atlanta-based company that markets the product as an additive that converts liquid cream into a flavored foam. According to the lawsuit, Galaxy Gas has been increasingly used in recent years as an inhalant to induce that high, although the company that makes it puts a warning label on it warning that it should not be inhaled.
That warning is insufficient, according to DiSalvo’s attorneys, especially given the product’s availability in smoke shops. DiSalvo’s attorney, Scott Schlesinger, said the warning comes across as a joke. “Nobody goes to a vape shop and buys these cans to make whipped cream,” he said.
“I am not the Food and Drug Administration or the Drug Enforcement Administration,” Schlesinger said. “If I were, these things would be banned.”
Schlesinger is an attorney at a firm with a history of taking on Big Tobacco and winning multimillion-dollar lawsuits that were once considered quixotic.
SBK International’s official website contains an explicit warning not to use the product for anything other than food preparation.
“It is unlawful for any person to purchase products containing nitrous oxide for any purpose not contemplated and permitted by law herein,” the warning reads. “By purchasing products containing nitrous oxide, you expressly agree and warrant that your possession and use are legally compliant and strictly limited to culinary food preparation.”
Site visitors must agree to the warning before navigating the web page.
According to the lawsuit, inhaling Galaxy Gas causes euphoria, but also leads to long-term physical effects and conditions, including memory loss. The warnings do not address that danger.
Galaxy Gas cannisters are also available on Amazon and at Wal-Mart.
Schlesinger said the lawsuit is a test case and he expects more to come. In addition to SBK, the lawsuit names five east Broward smoke shops as defendants, although none had been served as of Friday.
Schlesinger said the local defendants are allowing the case to be filed in state court in Broward, but he acknowledged the possibility that the complaint could turn into a federal lawsuit.
“We could go that route. We’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him at Threads.net/@rafael.olmeda.
