Last fall, a woman in her 20s was rushed to the hospital after inhaling what's known as "laughing gas vape" in a shopping mall parking lot in southern Okinawa. She gradually lost control of her body, collapsed and struck her head hard on the ground. When taken in an ambulance to the hospital, she experienced intense headaches and drifted in and out of consciousness. The drug she had inhaled, known as laughing gas mainly among those in their teens and 20s in Okinawa, contains etomidate, an anesthetic component not approved in Japan. Known overseas by names such as “zombie cigarettes,” its abuse has become a serious concern.