Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), Mike Carey (R-OH-15), Katie Porter (D-CA-47), and Chris Stewart (R-UT-02) as well as Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and JD Vance (R-OH) introduced the Youth Poisoning Protection Act, bipartisan and bicameral legislation that would ban the consumer sale of products containing high concentrations of sodium nitrite, a meat-curing chemical that can be lethal when ingested.

“In high concentrations, sodium nitrite is as lethal as some of the most widely regulated poisons on the market. There’s simply no reason it should be available to the public, particularly with its promotion on online suicide forums,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “The Youth Poisoning Protection Act is as commonsense as it gets, and I’m grateful to Representatives Carey, Porter, and Stewart, and Senators Duckworth and Vance for their leadership to finally treat sodium nitrite like the poison it is.”

“Easy access to harmful poisons is making America’s youth mental crisis worse. This important piece of legislation will take steps to protect our youth while addressing suicide and mental illness,” said Congressman Carey.

“There's clear evidence that sodium nitrite is a pressing threat to young people in crisis; Congress should take swift action to put up guardrails before more lives are lost,” said Congresswoman Porter. “This bipartisan legislation will help keep our kids safe, and I look forward to continue working with Democrats and Republicans to address our nation's youth mental health epidemic.”

“We have a responsibility to protect and care for society’s most vulnerable – our nation’s children,” said Congressman Stewart. “Young people nationwide are suffering from an unprecedented mental health crisis, and the availability of lethal chemicals has only made it easier for children to use deadly poisons with suicidal intent. No child should have access to these harmful substances, and the Youth Poisoning Protection Act is a step in the right direction to prioritize the safety of our youth.”

“To better protect our nation’s youth, I’m proud to help introduce commonsense bipartisan, bicameral legislation to better ensure that another dangerous chemical is not readily available to them—or anyone struggling with mental health—at the click of a mouse,” said Senator Duckworth.

A 2021 New York Times investigation into an online suicide forum found that sodium nitrite was being popularized and encouraged as an easily accessible method to die by suicide. The forum, which is disguised as a safe place to discuss suicidal ideation, hosts threads where anonymous users provide detailed instructions and real-time guidance on how to die by suicide using sodium nitrite. A recent toxicology publication based on data from the National Poison Data System (NPDS), one of the data sources used by the CDC, points to a rise in self-poisonings using sodium nitrite in the United States since 2017.

There is no known recreational use for highly concentrated amounts of sodium nitrite, but at the time of the Times’ investigation, highly concentrated amounts of the poison were widely available on e-commerce platforms, including availability with free two-day shipping on Amazon. Following outcry from lawmakers and victims’ families reported by Bloomberg Law, Amazon and a number of other online marketplaces began removing sodium nitrite listings. Last month, a Canadian citizen was arrested and charged for shipping packages containing lethal amounts of sodium nitrite to over 40 countries, resulting in at least two known deaths.

The Youth Poisoning Protection Act bans the sale of consumer products with a concentration of sodium nitrite greater than 10 percent. A copy of the bipartisan legislation introduced today can be accessed HERE.

“The road to this bill has been filled with tragedy, loss and sorrow,” said Ruth Scott of Schertz, Texas, mother of Mikael Scott and the first person to blow the whistle in court on online retailers for knowingly selling sodium nitrite. “This law will serve as a beacon to all retailers making industrial grade sodium nitrite illegal to sell to the general public. Every innocent life that was lost through the unconscionable sale and doorstep delivery of sodium nitrite is on notice.  No mother should have to mourn the loss of her only son.”

“In the fall of 2019, I was on call for the Illinois Poison Center when a 17-year-old girl’s heart stopped within minutes of arriving to an Emergency Department after ingesting what her sister described to doctors as “sodium something” she had purchased online,” said Dr. Sean D. McCann, an emergency medicine physician at University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago. “At the time we didn’t know what she had ingested but recognized the effects right away, a condition called methemoglobinemia in which the blood is stripped of its ability to carry oxygen. As the Emergency Department team performed CPR, we recommended treatment with the antidote for this condition: a drug called methylene blue. Despite receiving the antidote during CPR, she was unable to be resuscitated. In the following weeks we saw the same poisoning in four more young people, half of whom died. We learned that sodium nitrite was easily obtainable in large quantities and high purity from online retailers and that this was being recommended as a means of suicide in online communities. Poison centers across the country were noticing similar trends, and medical examiners were identifying on autopsy more cases that never survived long enough to be reported to poison centers. We have continued to see similar cases and are now intimately familiar with severe sodium nitrite poisoning. A fraction of a teaspoon of pure sodium nitrite, easily dissolved in water and ingested in an impulsive act, can be rapidly fatal. An antidote exists, but this poison kills so quickly that it is often too late. Prevention may be the only way to ensure we don’t see a continued rise in the number of young lives lost to this potent toxin."

“Over two years ago we first started urging an online retailer to stop selling industrial grade sodium nitrite to households, informing them that it was touted on suicide message boards and had killed our clients’ children. The retailer said even if it was used for suicide, it had no responsibility to stop selling it because it’s a “legal” product. So they kept selling it, delivering it to homes even though it has no household use, and killing more teens and vulnerable adults," said Carrie Goldberg and Naomi Leeds, of C.A. Goldberg, PLLC, lead counsel representing Ruth Scott and families across the United States whose children died from purchasing sodium nitrite online. “Most consumers do not realize how deadly a small quantity of this product is, how excruciating it is to ingest, or how unlikely survival is even if you throw it up or call 911. On behalf of the dozens of heartbroken families we’re working with, we express regret this bill couldn’t save their loved ones and gratitude for the lives it will spare.”

The legislation is endorsed by a number of independent organizations, including Consumer Reports, Public Citizen, Consumer Federation of America, National Consumers League, the Crisis Text Line, and leading medical experts. A full list of endorsing organizations and quotes of support can be accessed HERE.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, feeling at risk of suicide, or experiencing a state of distress, it is crucial to find help immediately. There are many resources available, including the 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline which provides free, confidential support 24/7, and the Crisis Text Line which offers free crisis counseling 24/7. Dial 988 or text HOME to 741741 to connect with these services.

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