Experts raise concern over rising number of vape spiking cases

Number of recorded vape spiking incidents has quadrupled in past few years, states a recent report.

Experts are warning about the danger of vape spiking, with devices found laced with substances other than nicotine, such as spice and THC.

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 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.

The Metropolitan Police also issued a warning over the devices at an event about tackling spiking earlier this year as reports increased by 13 per cent in 2023, with the number of allegations made reaching 1,383.

The police also revealed it is increasingly common to come across devices that contain chemicals other than nicotine, including THC, the psychoactive found in cannabis, and spice, the street name for the class of drugs known as synthetic cannabinoids.

Further figures from Stamp Out Spiking’s October 2022 poll, of 2,067 UK adults, found that of those who had been spiked, or knew someone who had been spiked, 3 per cent of these were spiking through a vape. There is also concern that school children may be unknowingly smoking vapes spiked with the drug spice, following an investigation by the University of Bath.

Out of 596 confiscated vapes tested across 38 schools in England, one in six (16.6 per cent) contained it, the study found. The study also found roughly 1 in 100 of vapes tested contained THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis.