Poppers are small bottles filled with liquid chemicals called alkyl nitrites. Nitrites like amyl nitrite (and butyl nitrite and isobutyl nitrite) dilate the blood vessels and allow more blood to get to the heart. They're usually sniffed straight  from the bottle and deliver a short, sharp high. Poppers are often sold in sex shops, clubs and gay bars.

What is Poppers
Poppers is a slang term for various alkyl nitrites, particularly amyl nitrite, butyl nitrite, isopropyl nitrite and isobutyl nitrite, inhaled for recreational purposes with the goal of enhancing sexual pleasure.

Amyl nitrite is used medically as an antidote to cyanide poisoning and several other alkyl nitrites, which are present in products such as air freshener and video head cleaner.

These products have also been part of the club culture from the 1970s disco scene to the 1980s and 1990s rave scene.

Poppers have a long history of abuse due to the rush of warm sensations and dizziness experienced when the vapours are inhaled.

Poppers have a low risk of harm to society and the individual compared to other recreational drugs.

Serious adverse effects can however, occur following acute exposure and with heavy long-term use there is a potential for neurological damage. Swallowing or aspirating the liquid rather than inhaling the vapours is particularly dangerous and can prove fatal.

Effects
Inhaling nitrites relaxes smooth muscles throughout the body, including the sphincter muscles of the anus and the vagina. It is unclear if there is a direct effect on the brain. Smooth muscle surrounds the body's blood vessels and when relaxed causes these vessels to dilate resulting in an immediate increase in heart rate and blood flow throughout the body, producing a sensation of heat and excitement that usually lasts for a couple of minutes.[

Alkyl nitrites are often used as a club drug or to enhance a sexual experience. The head rush, euphoria, and other sensations that result from the increased heart rate are often felt to increase sexual arousal and desire.] It is widely reported that poppers can enhance and prolong orgasms.

While anecdotal evidence reveals that both men and women can find the experience of using poppers pleasurable, this experience is not universal.

Health issues
Alkyl nitrites has similar adverse effects as other volatile substances. Acute intake of poppers may cause asphyxia, arrhythmias, cardiovascular depression, carbon monoxide poisoning, hepatorenal toxicity, methemoglobinemia, neurologic dysfunction, mucosal, pulmonary, skin irritation and facial dermatitis. With chronic use neurological damage may occur.


Legality*
Around 1990, many Western governments banned the sale, importation or usage of alkyl nitrites (poppers) for use as an inhalant. In France, the sale of products containing butyl nitrites, pentyl nitrites, or isomers thereof, has been prohibited since 1990 on grounds of dangerousness to consumers. In 2007, the government extended this prohibition to all alkyl nitrites that were not authorized for sales as drugs. After litigation by sex shop owners, this extension was quashed by the Council of State on grounds that the government had failed to justify such a blanket prohibition: according to the court, the risks cited, concerning rare accidents often following abnormal usage, rather justified compulsory warnings on the packaging.

Poppers remain available over the Internet, under names such as "video head-cleaning fluid," "room aromas," or "polish remover," as they remain legal in countries such as Poland and China.

* Source Wikipedia