The X Phials

PERSONALLY SPEAKING, I was about ten years old when I first came across poppers. In 1970s cop shows, sooner or later someone fell foul of these substances. It was one of the stock plot lines for Columbo and Quincy: an invariably rich man with a lot of enemies would conveniently get a heart attack. The cause: amylnitrate, which although it serves as a treatment for attacks of angina, can prove fatal for people with a weak heart. Poppers are Alkyl-nitrites; most are amylnitrate and butylnitrate.

In a country where high-profile, moralising anti-drugs campaigns are commonplace, and where large amounts of media publicity accompanies drug seizures (no matter how small), poppers are an anomaly. The drugs have no legal status and aren’t on any controlled substances list. No-one ever appears before the courts for consuming, purchasing or selling the small phials. A fixture on the gay scene for aeons, poppers have over the last few years broadened slightly in their appeal. They have, in particular, found favour with drug users who want their E buzz to last that little bit longer - a purpose which, according to enthusiastic users, poppers serve admirably. But overall, it is a pretty low profile drug.

Poppers are available over the counter as room odourisers, in sex shops and other adult outlets. They create an immediate rush that lasts for about five minutes. The drugs carry brand names like Rave, Liquid Gold, Red and, (presumably much to athletic shoe companies’ annoyance) Hi Tech, all of which suggests that the makers don’t expect to sell their produce to the ABC1 market.

The going rate is £5 to £6 pounds for a bottle. After inhalation of the fumes, the muscles relax; sphincter relaxation is one of the reasons for poppers’ popularity with gay men as a sex aid.

The two variations, amylnitrate and butylnitrate, don’t differ much from each other. Aficionados suggest that butylnitrate causes fewer bad headaches. But it’s doubtful whether these small differences are in themselves meaningful. However, butylnitrate-based poppers tend to be more readily available, partly because the owners of the shops think that amylnitrate is illegal. Other than the packaging, there is no difference between most brands. Butylnitrate is also used in erection-prolonging sprays, but realistically, the only likely effect would probably be a brief hit for your partner if they sniffed your genitalia, followed by a headache.

Certainly, headaches are as much an integral element of poppers as sport-oriented packaging is. Leave the little bottle open for a while and the headaches will get extremely painful. They can also cause nausea and dizziness.

Beyond the headaches there are other downsides to poppers. They are pretty rough on the lungs, but then again so are a lot of things you inhale. Mick Quinlan of the Gay Men’s Health Project points out: “Poppers are an immune suppressant, so people with HIV and with health problems should be careful. There is a risk of death if the liquid is ingested, and also it can cause damage to the nose if the liquid gets on it.”

He also points out another relevant risk: “All drugs affect judgement so people should be careful and have safe sex.”

Poppers lower the amount of oxygen in the blood, so people with weak hearts should steer well clear. In America cases have been documented of people using poppers to commit suicide by drinking them. Admittedly, such cases are very rare but they illustrate the risk involved. Another important detail is that repeated use creates a tolerance level that increases the health risks.

In Dublin, sales of poppers are, at most, a few hundred each month. People are reluctant to discuss them, which is rather surprising, considering that they are legal substances. The owners of the adult shops are reticent and are quick to point out that they don’t push the room odourisers: “We don’t sell to just anybody who walks in,” says one. The Gardaí’s attitude is similar: to put it bluntly, they simply aren’t that interested. Being legal, poppers are outside of their remit. Occasionally, when stopped by the guards, somebody might have their poppers confiscated. But only if the cop has a “reasonable suspicion” that there is something else in the bottle. Beyond that there are no restrictions.

So why, given their legality and availability, isn’t the use of poppers more widespread? Homophobia is one reason; many drug users see poppers as an exclusively gay drug. The perceived stigma of going into a sex shop to buy them is another reason for their low profile; additionally, there is no sub-culture outside of the saunas and nobody writes articles about popper chic (yet).

The shop owners state that the client base is still chiefly gay men, though occasionally curious teenagers attempt to buy them. But there are no queues of strung out people desperate to get their hands on poppers; nobody stealing cash for a five-minute rush out of a bottle with a daft name.

One last health warning. If your enemies, in the spirit of Columbo, try to get you with cyanide, then the correct dose of amylnitrate can sometimes neutralise the poison in the bloodstream. But as the saying goes, don’t try this at home.

• (Good advice over health issues is available from The Gay Men’s Health Project Tuesday 8-930pm and Wednesday 6:30 -8pm. on 6602189.)