Almost 3,000 children and teenagers are believed to have fallen victim to drink-spiking or vape-spiking in the last three years, according to an investigation by i . The exclusive analysis reveals incidents of vape spiking among youngsters are set to reach record levels this year. Often these vapes are laced with spice, the dangerous synthetic narcotic known as a “zombie drug” because it can leave users temporarily paralysed.
Freedom of Information requests sent to police forces in England and Wales show the number of recorded vape spiking incidents last year quadrupled since 2022. Headteachers have told i of children being rushed to hospital after inhaling spiked vapes, with one telling of pupils experiencing “cardiac episodes” as well as “dissociation, paranoia, [and] a kind of psychosis.” Separate research carried out earlier this year showed that almost a fifth of vapes confiscated from students contained illegal drugs, with 93 per cent of those containing spice.
Read Next Schoolchildren are falling victim to vape spiking, police warn Professor Chris Pudney, from the University of Bath, who carried out the research, warned that children unknowingly consuming spice through a vape could easily risk overdosing. He told i : “That’s why we’re seeing these really harmful outcomes in schools of children collapsing and children ending up in intensive care.” Spiking is when a substance is put into a person’s body through a drink or injection without their con.