Gay Men Get Warning on Danger of ‘Poppers’

Gay men should avoid inhaling butyl nitrites, commonly referred to as “poppers,” because the stimulant may be associated with a form of AIDS, the Los Angeles City-County AIDS Task Force said Tuesday.

Neil Schram, task force chairman, said a soon-to-be-published study approved by the Center for Disease Control found a “significant correlation” between use of nitrites and Kaposi sarcoma, a cancer marked by skin lesions that develops primarily in homosexual victims of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.