VAPING HOLE IN SALES CONTROL

Soaring use of cannabinoid by young people sparking fears

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A LEADING child addiction clinician has voiced alarm that cannabis type vapes are still available after doctors raised concerns more than a year ago.

Professor Bobby Smyth said HHC - a semi-synthetic cannabinoid - is now involved in a quarter of adolescent cases involving substance use.

He is among several child experts who have highlighted their deep concern about the rapid rise of vaping among Ireland's youth in a sobering new Virgin Media documentary, Vaping Nation.

The documentary highlights accounts of adolescents suffering psychiatric incidents and being hospitalised after using HHC, while school bodies are also getting reports of "critical incidents" linked to vaping.

Professor Smyth, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist with the HSE Addiction Services, said he had never heard of HHC until midway through 2023.

He added: "My job brings me into contact with teenagers who develop addiction issues, and that's where I came to encounter HHC.

DRUGS

"It's accounted for an increasing proportion of referrals to our service, sometimes in combination with other drugs, sometimes on its own.