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ID now required to buy canned whipped cream in New York state

NEW YORK — No matter how many gray hairs or wrinkles you proudly display, grocery shoppers in New York state must now provide a valid ID to purchase canned whipped cream.

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A little-known state law banning sales of cartridges used in cans of the whipped topping to those under 21 was enacted nine months ago in a bid to discourage teenagers from possibly abusing nitrous oxide, more commonly known as laughing gas, NBC News reported.

The nitrous oxide found in whipped cream canisters, when abused as a narcotic, is commonly referred to as “whippits” or “whip-its,” according to the network.

Specifically, the chargers that propel whipped cream through a canister nozzle are filled with nitrous oxide, which produces a high when inhaled. The inhalant has long been a popular recreational drug among teenagers due to the availability of whipped cream canisters at grocery and convenience stores, the Albany, New York-based Times Union reported.

Learn more about inhalants from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administraion.

Although the bill took effect nearly a year ago, signs stipulating the restriction and ID checks “have only recently popped up in the Capital Region,” according to the newspaper.

Kent Sopris, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores, attributed the lag to likely issues with tracking the new law, the Times Union reported.

“I think that there is some sort of reporting mechanism that just didn’t go the way it was supposed to,” he told the newspaper, adding, “We had been tracking the bill last year and when I looked in the bill tracking file, there is just no indication that it was signed.”

The age requirement for nitrous oxide cartridges went into effect Nov. 25, 2021, NBC News reported.

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