Drug‐related deaths associated with vaping product use in the United Kingdom

TY - JOUR

T1 - Drug‐related deaths associated with vaping product use in the United Kingdom

AU - Roberts, Emmert

AU - Copeland, Caroline

AU - Robson, Deborah

AU - Mcneill, Ann

N1 - Funding Information: This paper represents independent research funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), as part of the corresponding author's MRC Addiction Research Clinical (MARC) Fellowship. The research was part‐funded by the NIHR Biomedical Resear.ch Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. A.M. is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator. D.R. is funded by NIHR ARC South London. The funders had no contribution to the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. All authors were independent from funders, had full access to all the data (including statistical reports and tables) in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the MRC, the National Health Service (NHS), the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. Funding Information: This paper represents independent research funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), as part of the corresponding author's MRC Addiction Research Clinical (MARC) Fellowship. The research was part-funded by the NIHR Biomedical Resear.ch Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London. A.M. is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator. D.R. is funded by NIHR ARC South London. The funders had no contribution to the study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. All authors were independent from funders, had full access to all the data (including statistical reports and tables) in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the MRC, the National Health Service (NHS), the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Addiction published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/10

Y1 - 2021/10

N2 - Background and Aims: Between March 2019 and February 2020 there was an outbreak of acute lung injury associated with vaping tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), contaminated with vitamin E acetate, in the United States. To date, there has been no comprehensive study of drug-related deaths associated with vaping products in the United Kingdom. We aimed to identify any trends in drug-related deaths associated with vaping product use in the United Kingdom. Methods: We retrospectively identified any deaths associated with the use of vaping products reported to the UK National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (NPSAD). This contains voluntarily reported information from UK Coroners on more than 42 000 deaths related to psychoactive drugs, other than nicotine or caffeine, which occurred between 1997 and 2020. Results: Two drug-related deaths were reported which were associated with vaping products, one person having died in 2017 and one in 2018. Both decedents were men currently serving prison sentences in England and were aged 26 and 42 years at the time of death. Both deaths were associated with recent use of Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists (SCRAs), with no other substances found to be implicated in death. No details regarding the type of vaping products were available. Conclusions: In a UK sample (1997 to 2020) of 42 000 deaths related to psychoactive drugs other than nicotine or caffeine, only two deaths were associated with vaping products, and those involved use of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists.

AB - Background and Aims: Between March 2019 and February 2020 there was an outbreak of acute lung injury associated with vaping tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), contaminated with vitamin E acetate, in the United States. To date, there has been no comprehensive study of drug-related deaths associated with vaping products in the United Kingdom. We aimed to identify any trends in drug-related deaths associated with vaping product use in the United Kingdom. Methods: We retrospectively identified any deaths associated with the use of vaping products reported to the UK National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths (NPSAD). This contains voluntarily reported information from UK Coroners on more than 42 000 deaths related to psychoactive drugs, other than nicotine or caffeine, which occurred between 1997 and 2020. Results: Two drug-related deaths were reported which were associated with vaping products, one person having died in 2017 and one in 2018. Both decedents were men currently serving prison sentences in England and were aged 26 and 42 years at the time of death. Both deaths were associated with recent use of Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists (SCRAs), with no other substances found to be implicated in death. No details regarding the type of vaping products were available. Conclusions: In a UK sample (1997 to 2020) of 42 000 deaths related to psychoactive drugs other than nicotine or caffeine, only two deaths were associated with vaping products, and those involved use of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103151444&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/add.15468

DO - 10.1111/add.15468

M3 - Article

SN - 0965-2140

VL - 116

SP - 2908

EP - 2911

JO - Addiction

JF - Addiction

IS - 10

ER -