The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has raised concerns that people are mistakenly blaming responsible nicotine vape retailers for the increase in ‘Spice vapes’.
The group warned that there had been a rise in consumers misusing ‘open’ vape devices to deliver synthetic cannabinoids, such as Spice and the psychoactive chemical THC which is found in cannabis. UKVIA emphasised that the regulated nicotine vape industry was in no way connected with the trend of using open vape devices as a delivery mechanism for illegal drugs.
John Dunne, UKVIA Director General, said: “There have already been scare stories in the media with headlines such as: ‘Vapes confiscated in schools contain the zombie drug spice’ and this causes people to wrongly believe that the nicotine vape industry is responsible for this new trend.
“We need the government to step in now with a nationwide education campaign in traditional and social media to highlight the dangers of obtaining vape devices from unofficial sources and explaining the differences between legal and illegal vape products.
“Unless a clear distinction is made between the regulated vape market supplying adult smokers with products which are 95% less harmful than cigarettes and the unofficial supply of illegal products, then people will become wary of all vapes with the potential to drive smoking rates back up again.”
According to NHS inform: “Synthetic cannabinoids are lab-made drugs. Spice is a nickname for a substance containing one or more synthetic cannabinoids.
“Synthetic cannabinoids were originally designed to mimic the effects of cannabis. However, they are more harmful and unpredictable than cannabis. Due to their potency, there’s no safe way to take synthetic cannabinoids.”
It says the risks of taking synthetic cannabinoids include inability to move, dizziness, breathing difficulties, chest pain, heart palpitations, seizures, extreme anxiety, paranoia and suicidal thoughts.
