The rush is immediate. A sudden warmth flushes your brain as your head starts to spin and your body feels lighter. Your blood pressure falls and your heart rate leaps. For a moment, nothing else matters. Then, in 30 seconds, it's over.

An "amyl" high is a world away from the violent rampages of methamphetamine or the private euphoria of heroin. But it could soon be just as illegal. The Therapeutic Goods Administration is weighing an outright ban on the family of liquids called alkyl nitrites - commonly known as "poppers" - which currently float in a grey legal area.

Medically, it requires a prescription. But the substance is commonly packaged as leather cleaner and sold in 30 millilitre bottles behind the counter at sex shops or online.

Inhaled through the nostrils, it is a common sight on dancefloors and in bedrooms - particularly for gay men. Fleeting high aside, alkyl nitrites also help relax smooth muscles such as the anal and vaginal sphincters. It is especially useful for men receiving anal sex.

The push to ban poppers is driven by medical concerns, particularly the effect of frequent amyl use on eyesight. But in the gay community, it has been interpreted as a deliberate attack. Read more via Sydney Morning Herald