Contaminated vapes send school children to hospital

By Filipa Gaspar

Vapes laced with the drug spice have been found in schools, leading to kids being taken to the hospital, police say.

Officers are urging parents to talk to their children about the dangers of using contaminated vapes after the discovery.

Police say there has been an increase in vapes being contaminated with spice in secondary schools, leading to hospitalizations.

Spice is a lab-made drug that mimics the effects of cannabis but with much stronger effects.

It can cause serious side effects like breathing problems, heart attacks and seizures. Other symptoms include feeling dizzy, vomiting, heart racing, sweating, anxiety, and paranoia.

Police in Wiltshire say they are now using a new device to test vapes in schools to check if they have been contaminated.

The force is working with Bath University, Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council to test any suspected contaminated vapes to mitigate any further risks to students.

The initiative is part of a wider effort involving Wiltshire Police, Swindon Borough Council and Wiltshire Council to tackle the emerging problem.

PCSO Jon Akehurst said, "We want to find out if any of these vapes have THC or spice in them, which could help us form a hotspot map where there are concerns in the local communities and where it is suspected that children are accessing these contaminated vapes.

"We can then look at what actions we might take, such as warrants and working with Trading Standards.

"We are not looking at taking any punitive action towards students. We want to make sure that they have the right support; within Wiltshire, we would use Connect, and in Swindon, we would use U-turn. We would refer the young person to the youth service so that they can have an honest conversation with somebody about substance misuse and what the dangers are.

"Schools have been really supportive of this work. We want to make sure schools know what service we are offering and how to contact us, as well as being able to have open conversations with us if they think they have a concern.

"I'd urge parents to have conversations with your child about the dangers and risks as well as what happens if they do use a vape which is contaminated with something. Make it clear that if you do take these things, it has an impact on your life.

"You may have a substance addiction; you might need it constantly, it's going to cost you money, and you could end up in debt. There are real-life consequences for anyone taking drugs. If you are concerned about your child, there are people that can help and support you.

"Unfortunately, with spice, there can be many different reactions. We've seen vomiting and behaviour changes, and we've had an incident where there were concerns that a child was having a fit.

"The reactions can be very, very broad. Behaviour changes seem to be the biggest concern for schools, with students being fine before lunch, but after lunch, they are elevated in aggression, say.

"It is becoming more and more common for us to see children using vapes, but so far in Wiltshire, we are quite lucky that we have not seen a large number of contaminated vapes."