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Germany Warns from Dangers of 'Laughing Gas' Sales

The drug, which is used in medicine as an anaesthetic and for pain reduction, has become a particularly popular party drug among young people (Shutterstock)
The drug, which is used in medicine as an anaesthetic and for pain reduction, has become a particularly popular party drug among young people (Shutterstock)
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Germany Warns from Dangers of 'Laughing Gas' Sales

The drug, which is used in medicine as an anaesthetic and for pain reduction, has become a particularly popular party drug among young people (Shutterstock)
The drug, which is used in medicine as an anaesthetic and for pain reduction, has become a particularly popular party drug among young people (Shutterstock)

Germany's health minister, Karl Lauterbach, plans to introduce stricter rules to curb the sale of nitrous oxide, sometimes known as laughing gas, especially to young people.

The drug, which is used in medicine as an anaesthetic and for pain reduction, has become a particularly popular party drug among young people in Germany. The sale and consumption of nitrous oxide is not restricted under current law, dpa reported.

"We will come up with a regulation quickly," Lauterbach told public broadcaster ARD on Friday.

Among the possibilities is including nitrous oxide in the list of psychoactive substances, which come with very strict rules for sale and possession.

He said that a complete ban would not be possible because nitrous oxide is used for industrial purposes as well.

"We are now tackling this very quickly," assured the minister.

Until the government takes action, Lauterbach recommended that parents educate their children: "It may sound fun and harmless, but it's not," the minister warned.

Regular consumption could lead to accidents or even neurological damage, and permanent damage cannot be ruled out either, he said.

"It's very dangerous for children and young people," said Lauterbach.

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Varieties

A Set of 1st Editions of Shakespeare's Plays Could Fetch $6 million at Auction

This photo issued by Sotheby's on Wednesday April 23, 2025, shows The First Folio of William Shakespeare, which contains 36 of Shakespeare's plays, and is "the most significant publication in the history of English literature". It is one of four folios which are due to go on sale at Sotheby's in London on May 23, where they are expected to fetch between £3.5 million and £4.5 million. (Sotheby's via AP)
This photo issued by Sotheby's on Wednesday April 23, 2025, shows The First Folio of William Shakespeare, which contains 36 of Shakespeare's plays, and is "the most significant publication in the history of English literature". It is one of four folios which are due to go on sale at Sotheby's in London on May 23, where they are expected to fetch between £3.5 million and £4.5 million. (Sotheby's via AP)
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A Set of 1st Editions of Shakespeare's Plays Could Fetch $6 million at Auction

This photo issued by Sotheby's on Wednesday April 23, 2025, shows The First Folio of William Shakespeare, which contains 36 of Shakespeare's plays, and is "the most significant publication in the history of English literature". It is one of four folios which are due to go on sale at Sotheby's in London on May 23, where they are expected to fetch between £3.5 million and £4.5 million. (Sotheby's via AP)
This photo issued by Sotheby's on Wednesday April 23, 2025, shows The First Folio of William Shakespeare, which contains 36 of Shakespeare's plays, and is "the most significant publication in the history of English literature". It is one of four folios which are due to go on sale at Sotheby's in London on May 23, where they are expected to fetch between £3.5 million and £4.5 million. (Sotheby's via AP)

A set of the first four editions of William Shakespeare’s collected works is expected to sell for up to 4.5 million pounds ($6 million) at auction next month.

Sotheby’s auction house announced the sale on Wednesday, Shakespeare's 461st birthday. It said the May 23 sale will be the first time since 1989 that a set of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Folios has been offered at auction as a single lot.

The auction house estimated the sale price at between 3.5 million and 4.5 million pounds.

After Shakespeare’s death in 1616, his plays were collected into a single volume by his friends John Heminges and Henry Condell, actors and shareholders in the playwright’s troupe, the King’s Men, The AP news reported.

The First Folio — fully titled “Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies” — contained 36 plays, of which half were published there for the first time. Without the book, scholars say, plays including “Macbeth,” “The Tempest” and “Twelfth Night” might have been lost. Sotheby’s called the volume “without question the most significant publication in the history of English literature.”

About 750 copies were printed in 1623, of which about 230 are known to survive. All but a few are in museums, universities or libraries. One of the few First Folios in private hands sold for $9.9 million at an auction in 2020.

The First Folio proved successful enough that a an updated edition, the Second Folio, was published in 1632, a third in 1663 and a fourth in 1685.

Although the First Folio is regarded as the most valuable, the third is the rarest, with 182 copies known to survive. It is believed the third book’s rarity is because some of the stock was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

The Third Folio included seven additional plays, but only one – “Pericles, Prince of Tyre” – is believed to be by Shakespeare.