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Teenager offered laced vape ends up in hospital. Home-brewed vape juice concerns as the vape contained THC, spice and benzodiazepines.
Latest News - Laced Vape Sends Teenager to Hospital
The vape contained illicit additions he wasn't aware of
Recently there was a worrying story that hit the news about a teenager ending up hospitalised due to vaping. With article titles such as ‘Barnsley mum’s plea after two drags on a vape left teenage son fighting for his life', it’s hard not to immediately think that E-Cigarettes were the devil in disguise. Let’s look at the story.
Latest news on vaping from Yorkshire
A teenage boy who was 16 at the time, inadvertently ended up taking several drags from an offered vape that left him collapsed and convulsing. They were not aware of it at the time but the vape from which he had used, had been laced with spice and benzodiazepines.
He was rushed to the hospital where he was treated and managed to make a full recovery without lasting effects. But it was there that it came to light what had been in the offered vape. He had tested positive for THC, an illegal substance in the UK, spice, and benzodiazepines – supposedly part of a worrying trend of teenagers lacing their vapes with extra things to get a better ‘high’.
Because of this, his mother took to social media to announce the dangers of taking something offered by someone you don’t know. Ensuring that you know the vape juice is legitimate and not a home-brewed concoction is important to avoid such issues.
The dangers of home-brewed E-Liquids
The practice of creating your own vape juice is not a relatively new one. Some vapers enjoy mixing different flavours together to create new flavour combos or adding their own flavours to unflavoured bases. But the practice of mixing your own vape juice should not be done lightly. There are a lot of elements involved in E-Liquids that could pose risks such as exposure to high doses of liquid nicotine. And if we involve outside elements that do not belong in legal vape liquids, then the risks get potentially higher.
As in the article mentioned above, the laced vape contained THC which is a banned substance in the UK. THC is the psychoactive compound from the hemp or cannabis plant that produces the high effect along with the traditional ‘trip’ associated with cannabis. Spice is also a synthetic version of cannabis that mimics its effects and is not a legal substance in the UK either. These substances and many like it are not meant to be vaped and are certainly not legal. Being aware of what you are vaping especially when concerning an offered vape, is important.
If you are an advanced vaper and are looking to create your own E-Liquids, we suggest purchasing DIY kits from reputable companies that offer instructions and quality ingredients that are safe.
It’s also important to recognise that vaping is a harm reduction tool intended to help smokers quit smoking. Although vaping offers considerably less harm, there is still some harm involved which is why it is not suggested for those who do not smoke.
