Britain's Conservative government announced Sunday that it plans to soon ban nitrogen oxide, known as " laughing gas ", which is increasingly popular.

"Anyone who has ever had the chance to walk in the parks of our big cities has seen these little silver cans," Housing and Communities Minister Michael Gove told Sky News on Sunday.

The minister added that users "not only vandalize public places, but also ingest a substance that can have a psychological and neurological effect and contribute to antisocial behavior."

"This is why we need to crack down on new manifestations of drug use, and these laughing gas canisters are a growing scourge," Gove said.

The government is seeking to make the sale of these containers only permitted for "appropriate purposes". Nitrogen oxide is used primarily by the medical community as an anesthetic, also in kitchen hoods.

In November, the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Addiction warned of an "alarming" increase in the recreational use of nitrogen oxide in certain regions of Europe.

This growing popularity, especially among young people, is mainly due to the easy availability and low price of this material. This gas is known for its short-term psychoactive effects, three to four minutes after inhalation.

In the Netherlands, the possession and sale of nitrogen oxide has been prohibited since 1 January.