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The music is good. The people are hot. The lasers are strobing. And there isn’t one tense sphincter muscle in the room, because the strange banana-meets-sharpie scent wafting through the air at your favorite club isn’t floating from a nearby fruity Febreze dispenser. It’s poppers, or alkyl nitrites, or, if the feds are asking, leather cleaner.
Poppers, which first arrived in the American club scene in the ‘70s from London, are vasodilators, meaning they rapidly expand blood vessels when inhaled. Originally formulated to treat chest pain, the tiny bottles, about the size of a bottle of nail polish, emerged as an assistance to chemsex, or the intentional use of chemicals to enhance or prolong sexual activities, particularly with gay men. A volatile liquid, it quickly evaporates when the bottle is opened, releasing a gas that creates a 20-second instant high, followed by a two-minute head rush and approximately 5 minutes of total body relaxation.
Give it to the gays to know how to have a good time. It didn’t take long to figure out that the tranquilizing properties are really good for the bedroom activities that exercise the tubular muscle systems, like the throat, anus or vagina.
As they say, “two hits and anything fits.”
In 1990, the Crime Control Act banned all three variants of volatile alkylates. Sort of. Technically, poppers manufactured for “commercial purposes other than for human consumption” are legal. So as long as the word “cleaner” is in fine print somewhere on the bottle, it’s fair game, for now at least.
Poppers, The Newest Old Party Drug
Brat Summer undeniably reinvigorated club culture. Troye Sivan’s infectious 2023 “Rush” track was a not-so-subtle nod to a well-known poppers brand. Meanwhile, ’80s club forebearer Madonna sniffed them on a TikTok Livestream. And for those who are budget-constrained and fearful of $90 little baggies and the potential diseases that come with snorting off a dingy club toilet seat, poppers are often an alternative for a party pick-me-up.
“Poppers are definitely having a new heyday. In recent years, they’ve been showing up more and more on dancefloors, just like in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” says Adam Zmith, author of Deep Sniff: A History of Poppers and Queer Futures. “It’s a cheap and cheeky little hit that suits a lot of people, whether they’re partying or having sex or just being silly with friends.”
There’s a very real chance you’ve caught a whiff of poppers at Dallas nightclubs these days, as Zmith says poppers aren’t relegated to spaces meant just for homosexual men now. But don’t worry, you’re not likely to catch a high simply from smelling them in the air. And if you do use them, don’t go too crazy with them, before you ruin it for everyone.
“Poppers have definitely crossed over and out of gay male culture, and they’re giving pleasure to all sorts of people now, which could be why the [Federal Drug Administration] has been raiding and shutting down poppers manufacturers in the USA this year.”
Zmith is right. The feds are after the girls (and the gays) who just want to have fun. In March, the FDA raided Double Scorpio, a poppers brand based in Austin. They shut down for good. It’s not the only distributor of poppers that has been closed following a government probe, either. And there might be more to come under the guidance of Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“One hundred percent of the people who died — the first thousand who had AIDS were people who were addicted to poppers,” Kennedy said in 2023.
Kennedy is wrong, as there’s no evidence that directly links the two.
However, the FDA has long discouraged the use of alkylates. Which is fair, as they’re not exactly good for you, but there are downsides to almost any adult fun.
Are Poppers Bad For You? They Can Be
The eternal secret to life is living in moderation. Much like anything — legal fun like alcohol included — recreational substances can be dangerous if not handled with care.
“Too much of anything can be dangerous,” says Dr. Carlton Thomas, a board-certified gastroenterologist and co-host of the Butt Honestly podcast, which is dedicated to, you guessed it, butt stuff. “But there are definitely situations where you should avoid them, and if you have cardiac conditions or visual problems or overall, you’re not a very healthy person, definitely avoid [poppers].”
Poppers can cause nausea, fainting and a wicked headache for anyone who takes them, which is why Thomas personally doesn’t. But in rare cases, they can also cause lasting blind spots, strokes and occasionally death. Most side effects are only experienced in conjunction with other substances or in people with pre-existing medical conditions, such as heart problems.
“If you take erectile dysfunction meds like Cialis and Viagra, those already dilate smooth muscle,” said Carlton. “You can have a dramatic drop in blood pressure if you are hitting poppers and you’re on those. We don’t recommend mixing those, which is a bummer because that’s all chemsex is.”
Carlton says there are people who get addicted to poppers, and that when the liquid splashes upon opening, it can cause nasty chemical burns. Also, ingesting it by mouth instead of inhaling can be fatal, so handle it with acute caution.
“Poppers are not regulated,” he says. “They’re not FDA approved. There have been no real studies on them. We don’t really know how they affect everybody. There have been people who’ve been found dead in bed with only a bottle of poppers next to them.”
We’re not here to tell you to try poppers, but we’re not here to fear-monger either. There are lots of people who take poppers who are just fine. Use your best judgment, and if you have a pre-existing heart condition, you probably shouldn’t be snorting anything anyway.
Besides, Carlton says there’s a much worse new trend on the chemsex scene: ethyl chloride. Though commonly associated with poppers, ethyl chloride is a much more potent, much more addictive and much more dangerous inhalant. The chemical is huffed with a rag and can cause sudden sniffing death, central nervous system damage, suffocation and delirium. Carlton does not recommend the use of ethyl chloride in any capacity.
If you are looking to try poppers, they sell them at local sex shops. But you’ll have to know the magic password to get them because it’s illegal to sell poppers. It is not illegal to sell VCR cleaner, though.
