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Popper is a slang term given broadly to drugs of the chemical class called alkyl nitrites that are inhaled. They act on the body as vasodilaters. Most widely sold products include the original isoamyl nitrite; isopentyl nitrite, and isopropyl nitrite. Isobutyl nitrite is also widely used but is banned in the European Union. In some countries, poppers are labeled or packaged as room deodorizers, leather polish, nail polish remover, or videotape head cleaner to evade anti-drug laws. Popper use has a relaxation effect on involuntary smooth muscles, such as those in the throat and anus. It is used for practical purposes to facilitate anal sex by increasing blood flow and relaxing sphincter muscles. The drug is also used for recreational drug purposes, typically for the "high" or "rush" that the drug can create, and to enhance sexual pleasure in general. In popular culture, poppers have been part of club culture from the mid-1970s disco scene and surged in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s rave scene. The French chemist Antoine Jérôme Balard synthesized amyl nitrite in 1844. Sir Thomas Lauder Brunton, a Scottish physician born in the year of amyl nitrite's first synthesis, documented its clinical use to treat angina pectoris in 1867 when patients experiencing chest pains would experience complete relief after inhalation. Brunton was inspired by earlier work with the same agent, performed by Arthur Gamgee and Benjamin Ward Richardson. Brunton reasoned that the angina sufferer's pain and discomfort could be reduced by administering amyl nitrite—to dilate the coronary arteries of patients, thus improving blood flow to the heart muscle. Amyl nitrites were originally enclosed in a glass mesh called "pearls". The usual administration of these pearls was done by crushing them between the fingers, followed by a popping sound. This administration process seems to be the origin of the slang term "poppers". It was then administered via direct inhalation of the vapours or inhalation through silk that covered the capsule.

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Related concepts (4)

Poppers

Nightclub

A nightclub is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discothèque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who mixes recorded music. Nightclubs tend to be smaller than live music venues like theatres and stadiums, with few or no seats for customers. Nightclubs generally restrict access to people in terms of age, attire, personal belongings, and inappropriate behaviors.

Club drug

Club drugs, also called rave drugs or party drugs, are a loosely defined category of recreational drugs which are associated with discothèques in the 1970s and nightclubs, dance clubs, electronic dance music (EDM) parties, and raves in the 1980s to today. Unlike many other categories, such as opiates and benzodiazepines, which are established according to pharmaceutical or chemical properties, club drugs are a "category of convenience", in which drugs are included due to the locations they are consumed and/or where the user goes while under the influence of the drugs.