Five children required hospital treatment after smoking vapes containing synthetic cannabinoids, also known as Spice.Police officers were called to a school in Eltham, in south-east London, on January 29 "after a number of students reported feeling unwell".One of the children has been put in an induced coma, the Mirror reports. Last month, two children in Merton were also left unwell after using a vape laced with Spice.The Welsh Emerging Drugs and Identification of Novel Substances service (Wedinos) has warned that people buying e-cigarettes laced with Spice may have thought they contained cannabis oils or liquids.Almost a third of the 196 samples of liquids submitted to them in 2023 contained a class of chemicals which Spice belongs to, they revealed.
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00:00 Paralysis, seizures and psychosis.
00:02 These are just some of the long-term effects of the zombie vapes ripping through the UK.
00:06 These illegal vapes are having devastating effects on young people.
00:09 Five London teenagers have been hospitalized because of them,
00:12 with one being put into an induced coma.
00:15 So what are zombie vapes and how do you spot them?
00:17 Zombie vapes are vapes or liquid laced with the drug spice
00:20 and get their name from the zombie-like state the drug puts you in.
00:23 However, they're often advertised as cannabis or THC liquids and are sold online.
00:28 Spice is far more dangerous than weed, despite it only recently being made illegal.
00:32 The rate of deaths caused by spice is increasing at an alarming speed
00:35 and it's also highly addictive.
00:37 It's no secret that vapes are becoming increasingly popular among teenagers.
00:40 These unregulated vapes therefore pose a huge risk of illness
00:43 or overdose to kids unwittingly using them.
00:45 In the past, children as young as 12 have been found to be smoking zombie vapes.
00:49 So how can you spot one?
00:50 According to vape retailer Vaping 360, counterfeit vapes or liquid often lack
00:55 key information on their packaging, such as manufacturing and packaging dates,
00:59 license numbers and batch numbers.
01:01 Look for retailers that publish testing results and explain what ingredients are in the vape.
01:05 They say any seller who doesn't want to share details about the product should be avoided.
01:09 They also say vape liquid shouldn't be thin and watery
01:11 and that it should never taste burnt or metallic if it's good quality.
01:14 The government has confirmed it's banning disposable vapes
01:17 to tackle the high number of children using them.
01:19 However, refillable vapes aren't set to be affected by the changes.
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