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'Gas duster' (also erroneously referred to as 'canned air') is a product consisting of liquified difluoroethane, trifluoroethane, or tetrafluoroethane in a spray can, with a long nozzle that enables the user to direct a precisely focused blast of gas. Gas dusters do not use compressed air, but other inert gases that are much easier to compress into a liquid state. Hydrocarbons, like butane, were often used in the past, but their flammability forced manufacturers to use fluorocarbons.
A gas duster is usually used to clean or dust delicate or sensitive items such as electronic components and computer equipment, as jets of gas are often gentler and sometimes more effective than other cleaning methods. The spray can often reach places where other cleaning implements cannot.
Normally, when held in an upright position, the liquid contained in the can immediately changes state into a gas when it leaves the nozzle. Gases compressed into their liquids state absorb ''(see endothermic reaction)'' a great amount of energy during vaporization, which is why under normal use, the can becomes quite cold to the touch. Holding the can upside-down or at a steep angle and spraying does not allow for the liquid to immediately vaporize, causing it to be released as a freezing spray.
Since gas dusters are one of the many inhalants that can be easily abused, many manufacturers have added a bittering agent to deter people from inhaling the product. Recently, in the United States, some Staples and RadioShack stores have began to ask for ID to verify if the customer is of 18 years or older.

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★ Dust-Off: a brand of gas duster

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★ Snopes: Adolescents huffing from cans of Dust-Off brand compressed air have died.