Starting signal for "Merkste was?": New campaign warns against laughing gas consumption

Powerful images, clear message – and an interactive website as a gateway for new awareness paths

ffm. Nitrous oxide is being consumed publicly more and more frequently: in schoolyards, at parties, in parks, green areas, and in front of houses. Many teenagers and young adults, however, are not aware of the health and social risks. The city of Frankfurt am Main has already prohibited distribution to minors. In addition, adults are forbidden to consume or distribute nitrous oxide in publicly accessible places, areas frequented by children and youth, pedestrian zones, and green spaces.

Now the Department for Climate, Environment and Women, together with the Department for Social and Health Affairs and FES, is launching an additional awareness campaign: emotional, attention-grabbing, and interactive.

At the center are a visually striking poster series and – instead of a conventional website – a digital web presence designed like a computer game. This aims to encourage young people to think creatively about nitrous oxide consumption.

“It is incredible how many teenagers and young adults consume nitrous oxide,” notes Tina Zapf-Rodríguez, Department Head for Climate, Environment and Women. “Every day, empty cartridges or large nitrous oxide containers are found in green areas, on the street, or in the trash. Just last year, FES had to collect and dispose of 6,000 cartridges separately. Nitrous oxide is not only a health risk – it also impacts our city and the climate.”

With the new campaign, the Environment and Health Departments aim to take preventive action against these dangers. The new poster motifs depict scenes from the fictional world of “Frankforce” – a specially developed experience format inspired by the aesthetics of popular games. The heroes of this story – the Frankforce – face a threat that seems harmless but has serious consequences: nitrous oxide. With the claim “Merkste was?” the campaign addresses young people directly.

Elke Voitl, Department Head for Social and Health Affairs, emphasizes: “Nitrous oxide is not harmless fun but a danger – to health and our community. As a city, we do not want to look away but clearly identify where risks lie and jointly find ways to protect young people. This campaign relies on information, awareness, and dialogue – implemented in a special way: creative, close to the lives of young people, and with a clear Frankfurt connection. Only those who are informed can act responsibly.”

In addition to health and social risks, the campaign also highlights environmental, safety, and cleanliness consequences.

Nitrous oxide cartridges not only pollute the city and incur high costs due to separate collection, recording, and disposal, but they can also cause fires in waste and sorting facilities. When escaping, the cartridges release a greenhouse gas about 300 times more harmful to the climate than CO₂.

FES CEO Benjamin Scheffler explains: “Every fifth nitrous oxide cartridge, in our estimate, is not completely empty. The hazard potential for people and facilities is enormous. If such a container were to explode in a waste-to-energy plant, and, as has happened in other German plants, damage the grate or furnace lining, the plant would be out of service for repairs. Waste could no longer be accepted and incinerated. The more sorting and treatment facilities are damaged by nitrous oxide cartridge explosions, the higher the probability of temporary outages.”

“Less consumption means less waste, less fire hazard, more cleanliness and safety,” says Environment Department Head Tina Zapf-Rodríguez. Together with Benjamin Scheffler, she advocates a nationwide deposit requirement for gas cartridges of 200 ml or more. Until then, Frankfurt relies on the new awareness campaign “Merkste was?” with informational materials, workshops, online offerings, and social media posts.

The campaign launches on August 19, 2025, with posters throughout the city. At the same time, the website Externer Link zu www.merkstewas.info goes online.

The website Externer Link zu www.merkstewas.info digitally continues the poster campaign: the story of Frankforce is told in an interactive environment with quests, minigames, and a prize contest – informative, exciting, and low-threshold.