The number of children believed to have fallen victim to vape-spiking has soared seven-fold since 2021, a shock investigation revealed today.
More than a dozen kids last year were found to have puffed devices laced with substances including spice — a dangerous synthetic narcotic dubbed a ‘zombie drug’ because it can leave users temporarily paralysed.
Rates recorded in the first five months of 2024 alone show reported vape spiking incidents have almost reached the levels seen during the entirety of 2023.
Meanwhile, 3000 children have fallen victim to spiking in the last three years after using either a contaminated vape, or drinking a liquid laced with spice.
The investigation also featured testimony from headteachers that told of children being rushed to hospital after inhaling spiked vapes experiencing ‘dissociation, paranoia, [and] a kind of psychosis.’
It comes amid growing reports nationwide over the last year of vapes which have reportedly been spiked with drugs. In 2023 one festival goer told how she collapsed and started having bouts of fits after she was ‘duped’ into taking a puff on a stranger’s vape. Chloe Hammerton, then 26, who lives in Southampton, was attending the Isle of Wight festival when she was approached by a man who encouraged her to try his vape
The then-26-year old, who lives in Southampton, was attending the festival with her partner and her brother when she was approached by a man who encouraged her to try his vape
The figures, from police forces in England and Wales, obtained by The i under freedom of information laws found the number of recorded vape spiking incidents has also quadrupled since 2022.
Just two incidents were reported in both 2020 and 2021, with three in 2022.
This soared to 14 last year. Ten incidents were logged between January and May alone this year.
One headteacher told of incidents at his school where children’s heart rates went up to 150bpm and they had to be rushed to A&E.
Another warned of a case involving two 14-year-olds who collapsed after using spiked vapes and had to be treated by paramedics.
Ben Davis, headteacher at St Ambrose Barlow RC High School in Salford said his school is ‘dealing with children who consumed substances they were unaware of… through their vapes’.
He added: ‘The children described really odd symptoms: cartoon hands, being dissociated, paranoia, a kind of psychosis.
‘The child who hallucinated that his hands had changed said he felt he couldn’t control them and they felt like they didn’t belong to him.’
Many teenagers believe they are purchasing vapes or vape fluid containing THC — a compound found in cannabis plants — or nicotine.
In February, five teenagers were also rushed to hospital after they were thought to have used a vape spiked with the illegal drug Spice at a school in Eltham, data showed.
Meanwhile one child in Teesside had to be treated for an opiate overdose after using a ‘potentially fatal’ spiked vape.
According to the charity Stamp Out Spiking signs of vape spiking can also include shortness of breath, nausea, coughing, or fatigue.
Those experiencing such symptoms or worried they may have been spiked are urged to seek medical attention.
Experts have long warned vape users that fake devices also lack key production details including manufacturing and packing dates, a license number and batch number.
It comes amid growing reports nationwide over the last year of vapes which have reportedly been spiked with drugs including GHB, ketamine, and rohypnol, as well as types of synthetic cannabis — Black Mamba and Spice.
In 2023 one festival goer told how she collapsed and started having bouts of fits after she was ‘duped’ into taking a puff on a stranger’s vape.
Chloe Hammerton, then 26, who lives in Southampton, was attending the Isle of Wight festival when she was approached by a man who encouraged her to try his vape.
She claimed that within a minute of taking a puff she collapsed and began drifting in and out of consciousness and was unable to speak or move any part of her body.
Friends also claimed she started fitting, while her pupils kept constricting and dilating.
Spiking, however, is not a standalone offence. This means it makes collecting and analysing data on incidents difficult.
A recent survey by Stamp Out Spiking also suggested around 97 per cent of spiking incidents are not reported to the Police.
Police sources suggested to i that incidents involving such young children could be child protection issues and may not fit the more general understanding of a spiking attack.
Children are much more likely to be spiked after they start secondary school, and further still once they enter sixth form or go to college.
Figures have long shown how the proportion of kids using e-cigarettes has exploded amid the decline of traditional smoking, with more than a third of 16 to 18-year-olds now regularly inhaling them.
For comparison, less than one in ten were doing so a decade ago.
This is despite sales of vapes to under-18s being banned, with anyone caught flogging them to children threatened with fines and prosecution by Trading Standards.
Campaigners have long blamed predatory manufacturers for the ever-growing crisis, claiming they are intentionally luring kids in with colourful packaging, compared to highlighter pens, and child-friendly flavours such as bubblegum and cotton candy.
It comes as a shock study last month also found one in six vapes confiscated from school children in England were laced with ‘zombie drug’ Spice.
Testing hundreds of confiscated vaping devices from 38 schools revealed the alarming prevalence of the illegal synthetic street drug, which can cause heart attacks and strokes.
Police, schools and researchers believe the substance is being substituted into vapes which are sold as containing cannabis oil.
In efforts to stamp out the UK’s child vaping epidemic, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year pledged to ban disposable e-cigs completely.
In July new PM Keir Starmer also vowed to hand ministers power to restrict the flavours and promotion of vapes.
Campaigners have long blamed predatory manufacturers for the ever-growing crisis, claiming they are intentionally luring kids in with colourful packaging, compared to highlighter pens, and child-friendly flavours such as bubblegum and cotton candy
As of February, a total of 1,009 reactions to vapes have been recorded by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. Here are the 10 most common reports
This could change how nicotine-laden vapes are displayed in shops, moving them away from other products such as sweets.
They would be limited in flavours and sold in plain, tobacco-style packaging.
Council officers will also be given powers to dole out £100 on-the-spot fines to shops caught breaking the rules.
Both Germany and Ireland have outlined their own proposals to place restrictions on vapes, with Berlin chiefs currently considering an outright ban on disposable e-cigs.
Separately, Australia has put in place measures to make vapes available only to those who have prescriptions.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has also set out restrictions that ban vape shops from being within 300 metres of a school and which ensure all vapes must have removable batteries.
E-cigs allow people to inhale nicotine in a vapour — which is produced by heating a liquid, which typically contains propylene glycol, glycerine, flavourings, and other chemicals.
Unlike traditional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco, nor do they produce tar or carbon — two of the most dangerous elements.
A shocking MailOnline investigation last year even uncovered vapes resembling sweets and high street stores selling the devices next to chocolate and fruit gummies
Nicotine’s effect on the brain is well known — within 20 seconds of inhalation, it triggers the release of chemical messengers such as dopamine, associated with reward and pleasure.
But it also increases heart rate and blood pressure and makes blood vessels constrict. This is because nicotine triggers the release of the hormone adrenaline.
Earlier this year, MailOnline also discovered the number of adverse side effects linked to vaping reported to UK regulators has now eclipsed 1,000, with five of them fatal.
The extensive list includes everything from headaches to strokes.
These reports are made via the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s Yellow Card system, for adverse events linked to medical devices or drugs in the UK.
Members of the public and medics can submit them.
All five deaths were linked to respiratory and cardiovascular health problems.
