Nitrous oxide its concentration has increased 15% since 1750, control of nitrous oxide is considered part of efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. A 2008 study by Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen suggests that the amount of nitrous oxide release attributable to agricultural nitrate fertilizers has been seriously underestimated, most of which presumably, would come under soil and oceanic release in the Environmental Protection Agency data. Nitrous oxide also has been implicated in thinning of the ozone layer. A new study suggests that emission currently is the single most important ozone-depleting substance (ODS) emission and is expected to remain the largest throughout the
Nitrous oxide aid responders in prehospital settings, given the relative ease and safety of administering 50% nitrous oxide as an analgesic. The rapid reversibility of its effect would also prevent it from precluding diagnosis. Recreational inhalation of nitrous oxide, with the purpose of causing euphoria and/or slight hallucinations, began as a phenomenon for the British upper class in 1799, known as "laughing gas parties". Starting in the nineteenth century, widespread availability of the gas for medical and culinary purposes allowed the recreational use to expand greatly, throughout the world. In the United Kingdom, as of 2014, nitrous oxide was estimated to be