• Poppers is a term used for the group of chemicals known as alkyl nitrites. Alkyl nitrites include: amyl nitrite, butyl nitrite and isobutyl nitrite. Often poppers are a mixture of these chemicals. • Poppers come as a clear or gold-coloured liquid in a small bottle or tube. The vapour smells of old socks and is breathed in through the mouth or nose. • Poppers are known by trade names including Liquid Gold Rush, Ram, Stud, Thrust, TNT. • The drug is called ‘poppers’ because of the noise made by breaking open the thin glass capsule in which the medicine was originally supplied. • Use of poppers is popular on the gay scene.