Trump’s FDA Cracks Down on “Poppers”
Several producers of the inhalant, popular among gay men, have reportedly shut down operations due to FDA raids.
The Food and Drug Administration has set its sights on “poppers,” also known as amyl nitrite, an inhalant frequently used by gay men, particularly during sex.
Poppers are sold as video head cleaners, room fresheners, or nail polish removers. When inhaled, they relax the muscles and blood vessels in the body, producing a brief, intense euphoric rush. They also relax the anal sphincter muscle, which makes penetrative sex more pleasurable for receptive partners.
For years, the use of poppers has been a legal gray area.
Federal law prohibits the sale or distribution for recreational use, with some states seeking to punish recreational consumption.
For example, in Louisiana it’s illegal to possess and inhale poppers, punishable with a fine of $500 or six months in jail.
According to the Alabama Reflector, lawmakers in Alabama are poised to pass a law prohibiting the sale of poppers altogether, with possession punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine. Distribution would be punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $7,500.
Now, the federal government appears to be cracking down on popper manufacturers, allegedly conducting raids of companies that sell them.
Double Scorpio, a Texas-based poppers producer, announced on its website last week that it “stopped all operations following a search and seizure” performed by the FDA.
“We don’t have a lot of information to share but we believe that the FDA has performed similar actions towards other companies recently,” the statement on Double Scorpio’s website reads. The company thanked its loyal customers for their “trust” during their eight years in business.
Other poppers brands have gone silent and scrubbed their websites, according to Fast Company.
These include Pac-West Distributing, which manufactures the popular brand Rush; Nitro-Solv, which announced it has “ceased operations” on its website; and AFAB Industrial, a fellow Rush producer.
Previously, AFAB International owner Everett Farr bragged that he controlled 75% of the poppers market.
“As far as I’m concerned, I sell nail polish remover,” Farr told Buzzfeed in a 2021 profile. However, he later mentioned in that same interview, “Without this product, a multitude of gay men cannot have gay sex. Bottom line.”
Some producers appear to have been unaffected. A representative for the Buffalo-based company The Popper King — which bills itself on its website as “the premier site to buy poppers online” — said the business has not been contacted by the FDA.
Abuse of poppers can have several side effects, including headache, rapid heart rate, visual disturbances, dizziness, and flushing in the face. Some individuals may also experience nausea while using the product.
Poppers — which are designed to be inhaled and not ingested — can also cause an abnormal amount of hemoglobin to collect in the blood, low red blood cells, damage to the eyes, and inflammation and irritation where if the solution comes in contact with skin.
The FDA issued an advisory in 2021 warning consumers not to purchase or use poppers, saying their use can lead to “serious adverse health effects, including death, when ingested or inhaled.”
The crackdown under the Trump administration has the potential to be severe, as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has embraced an unsupported theory that the “gay lifestyle” of poppers use and partying with illicit substances was the chief cause of the initial AIDS epidemic.
That theory has largely been debunked, with nearly all scientists accepting that HIV is the cause of AIDS — although some note that poppers, and the disinhibition they cause, may lead to riskier sexual practices, such as condomless sex, that can increase the risk of HIV transmission.
Joseph J. Palamar, an associated professor in population health at NYC Langone Health told NBC News’ Benjamin Ryan that he and his research team have been collecting data on poppers use among nightclub-goers. Of more than 1,400 attendees surveyed last year, 18% reported using poppers sometime in the past year, including 46% of gay and bisexual men, 28% of lesbian and bisexual women, 10% of heterosexual women, and 6% of heterosexual men.
While he declined to give precise poisoning and death figures, Palamar claimed that reports to poison control centers about poppers have been on the rise and that there have been a few associated deaths in recent years.
He speculated that the most severe poisonings may be related to people using the inhalants improperly, primarily by ingesting them. He noted that they are often sold alongside energy drinks in some stores, which may lead to confusion among people unfamiliar with how to use poppers.
“I’m not saying to use them,” he told NBC News. “But if you do use them, do not drink them. It’s not an energy drink. You’ll definitely be poisoned.”
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