Warning to young people and parents: A potentially dangerous substance has been found in puff bars (e-cigarettes), and a Danish hospital has received several cases related to it.
TV2 recently published an article about finding oil in e-cigarettes that could be life-threatening. According to the source, it's not just nicotine mixed with sweet oil, but there are also substances similar to cannabis (hashish). In some serious cases, e-cigarettes may also contain substances like fentanyl and amphetamine. The danger, according to the Danish Health Authority, lies in the high percentage of young people who smoke these types of cigarettes, which is higher than ever before.
Helsingør Municipality issues warning
In a Facebook post, the Helsingør municipality has now chosen to come out and warn young people and their parents that puff bars may contain “a new type of substance that could be fatal if ingested.”.
According to Flemming Lecht, head of the Helsingør municipality's drug department for young people under 30, the municipality has recently received several young people hospitalized after smoking puff bars. In one case, the young man was on the verge of an overdose, according to TV2. Lecht stated, "We had the opportunity to send the puff bars for testing at the Clinical Biochemistry Department in Aalborg, and the report came back stating that it was so dangerous that we couldn't let it slide." Lecht added that the substance found by the biochemists in the Helsingør puff bars is described as a "synthetic cannabinoid." He explained to the source that what is dangerous in this case is that when we talk about drugs in general, we don't know how much of this cigarette becomes dangerous to an individual; it could be about one puff or perhaps 20 puffs.
The highest level of use among young people ever
According to Niels Sandow, head of the unit at the Danish Health Authority, speaking to TV2 Fyn, the number of young people aged 15 to 17 using this type of e-cigarette has risen to an all-time high of 9%: “The figure rose until last year, reaching 9%, and has remained there ever since. But overall, almost one in three people use nicotine products such as puff bars, tobacco, and cigarettes, and some use several products.” According to the source, Mads Hardal Høgaard, chairman of the board of SSP, an umbrella organization for SSPs across Denmark, explained that the major challenge lies in the fact that not all the substances used are illegal. For example, some synthetic substances that produce a cannabis-like effect are not themselves on the list of illegal substances. He also clarified that it is illegal to sell puff bars in Denmark, regardless of whether they contain nicotine or any other content.
The danger reaches a level that could be life-threatening.
According to TV2, the cases that occurred in the municipality of Helsingør, where young people felt unwell after smoking puff bars, were very aware of what they were smoking, according to Flemming Lecht. However, although the young people smoke the modern electronic cigarette of their own free will, the municipality's Health and Welfare Committee, in cooperation with Helsingung and the SSP (schools, social services, and police), chose to issue a joint statement with the aim of warning on Thursday evening, hoping that parents would talk to their children about the problem, because in the worst cases it could be life-threatening, according to Flemming Lecht, as quoted by the source.
